2010-03-17 - To Live is Christ - Considered Rubbish Not only did Paul give up his religious past and performance, he gladly counted everything else a loss too He would give up any claim of such things so he could gain justification by grace He considered them rubbish - Philippians 3:8-9 skubala = human waste or dung (KJV) He was saying the same thing as Isaiah - all righteousness acts are like filthy rags - Isaiah 64:6 The good we do is not rubbish but it is if those works are seen as the source and trusted in Our obedience, which is imperfect, does not make us right with God Christ's righteousness saves by faith The message of the cross calls us to sacrifice everything to Christ, who sacrificed everything for us Without his sacrifice, our sacrifice would be worthless to God and to man | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-03-21 - To Live is Christ - Joy and Crown Paul: My joy and crown is you standing firm in the Lord - Philippians 4:1 For the Greeks, the crown was a symbol of victory or a token of honor Paul's crown was changed lives The legacy was lasting and the reward was eternal Paul to Corinthians: Result of the ministry not written on tablets but on human hearts - 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 If other people's spiritual growth is not our concern, it will never be our joy If others are not our joy in this life, they will never be our crown after this life What brought Jesus joy, brought Paul joy Where do we get our joy in life? Self-centeredness is the greatest roadblock of joy We can not be concerned about the things of God if our own things get in the way The Philippians were Paul's concern, his focus, his joy and his crown | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-03-27 - Life to the Full - Crown not Frown (part 1) James address Christians under pressure Without pressure, the human body soon slows down and dies Pressure keeps the blood flowing James chooses to call himself servant rather than brother - James 1:1 He was a prominent leader in the early church but he kept a down-to-earth perspective Anyone in a leadership role needs to have the same attitude How are trials to be met? With pure joy - James 1:2-8 There are two options: continue in the process of becoming mature or walk away and do it our own way Maturity is not just spiritual longevity - it is how you react under pressure What do we do it we lack wisdom? Ask for it Not IQ but for knowing what to do in tricky situations It's a promise of God that he will enable you to live more intelligently What is last big trial you faced? How did you react? | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-04-04 - Life to the Full - Dead or Alive? (part 4) People are searching for a cause The perfect law forbids us to act out of anger or slander
| ||||||||||||||||||
2010-04-28 - Heart of Maturity (Motivation of Maturing) Preached by John Lusk (2005-01-30) How passionate are you about maturing?
Motivation of Maturing 1. To regain your identify Genesis 1:26-27
2. To remian in Jesus 1 John 2:3-4 - This is a expectation from God 3. To be effective and productive 2 Peter 1:4-8
4. Secure salvation 2 Peter 1:8-11 - We have been given a new start Wrong motivation - Pleasing people, selfish ambition | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-05-12 - Desire's Journey - Our Heart's Deepest Secret But I still haven't found what I am looking for - U2 We have a secret desire for life as it was meant to be Again and again the yearning of our heart cries for this life Life comes to all of us as a mystery We long to live a life we are not sure where to find The greatest human tragedy is to give up the search for life. Nothing is of greater importance than the life of our deep heart To lose heart is to lose everything - Proverbs 4:23 Who we really are and why we are here comes to us through our heart's desire Our heart yearns for things to be right is so strong that it overrides the logic and hopes against hope every time The heart has its reasons which reason knows not of - Proverbs 20:5 There are two things that pierce the human heart:
| ||||||||||||||||||
2010-05-13 - Desire's Journey - Same Old Thing Something worse than the fall of man (losing paradise) = getting used to it
We have not solved the riddle of our existence Everyone else seems to be getting on with things. What is wrong with me? It is possible to run away from the desire for years but we are desire - essence of the human soul Our desire, if we listen, will save us from committing soul-suicide Same old thing would not be enough Life as usual us not the life we truly want It is not the life we were made for "All good things come to an end" is a lie We abandon the most important journey of our lives when we abandon desire Whatever we might gain, it is not worth it - Matthew 16:26 | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-05-20 - Desire's Journey - Life to the Fullest I have come so you may have life to the full - John 10:10 Not: "I have come to exhaust you with long list of demands" Not only is eternal life duration but quality In him was life and that life was the light of men - John 1:4 People who aren't very good with keeping with a program are very aware of their soul's deep thirst for Jesus' message They tear off roofs The trample each other to get closer to him Have you seen anyone acting like this in order to join a church committee or to hear a sermon about a set of rules to follow? People act like this when it is a matter of life and death When life is at stake, human desire goes into desperation mode Pharisees missed the boat on this one Hearts were hardened by the very law they claimed would bring them life They killed their souls' thirst with duty and knowledge | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-06-05 - Desire's Journey - Ultimate Blow How are we to bet our arranging a good life in the face of death? Even after the fall, the wickedness of the human heart seems out of control So God set our years shorter - Genesis 6:3 Those left behind experience such pain
| ||||||||||||||||||
2010-06-24 - God does not change (part 2) Genesis v1:1 - Not much of the world v2:1 - What a change in a few weeks v2:20-25 - God created companionship - Adam's life changed v3:23-24 - Punished, banished, and moved out of the garden v6:11
v37:17-28
Genesis 45:4-8
God will never change | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-07-11 - Desire's Journey - The Adventure Begins (part 3) You would expect:
More often than not we think of godliness only in moral terms We are made like God because we are to be like God on earth - Genesis 1:26 We humans beings are never happier than when we are expressing the deepest gifts that are truly us The opportunity reveals the our creative nature All we want is to be released to be who we are God has created us and our gifts for a place of his choosing Our creative nature is essential to who we are as image bearers It brings us great joy to live it out with freedom and skill | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-07-18 - Desire's Journey - Deeper Desire (part 5) We can learn many things about the journey of desire in the story of Jesus' wilderness trial 1. He was hungry - Matthew 4:1-4
Satan: You don't have to stay hungry, you have options The lie is that the options will bring us what we most deeply want and need Evey idol is an impostor - not true life When on a marathon - and are given a beer It is cold (we desire cold) but we know we really need cold water for our thirst Junk food does not have the nutrition we need When we have been working out, working hard in the field, we know what we want Knowing full well what our heart's real thirst is, we will have looked the imposer in the face and laughed as Jesus did | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-07-21 - Desire's Journey - Deeper Desire (part 8) Losing all sensitivity - the dullness that most people accept as normal - Ephesians 4:17-19 A deadened soul requires a greater and greater level of stimulation to arouse it This is known as the downward spiral of any addiction TV today would be consider shocking thirty years ago This is why holiness is not numbness - it is sensitivity God wants to be our perfect lover but instead we seek perfection in human relationships and are disappointed when our lovers cannot love us perfectly The Law (Music sheet, if you will) is our help for guiding us Our instrument is out of tune from years of misuse We're not clear all the time on what it is we really want | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-08-13 - Waking Dead - Heart of All Things Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life - Proverbs 4:23 Tin man had once been a real man
After a series of blows, his humanity was reduced to efficiency If we can disable or deaden your heart, then we have effectively foiled the plan of God | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-08-20 - Waking Dead - Our Desperate Need Something has gone wrong within the human race Most of the misery we suffer on this planet is the fruit of the human heart gone bad God created us to reflect his glory Barely three chapters into the Bible, we have missed up the whole project - Sin enters the picture By chapter 6, God can not bear it anymore and has to start over - Genesis 6:5-6 This is the first mention of God's heart and it is broken We know we are not what we were meant to be Most of the religions concur on this point Usual remedies involve some sort of shaping up
Out of the heart comes all sorts of evil - Matthew 15:19 We don't need an upgrade, we need transformation | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-08-21 - Waking Dead - Last Adam Paul refers to Jesus as the Last Adam and the Second Man - 1 Corinthians 15:45-47 Adam and Eve were rulers over all creation and glorious image bearers of God Their choices would forever shape our lives - chose to disobey the one command they were given Fruit does not fall far from the tree Parents often wonder where their toddler learn how to be disobedient It was taught to them - it is inherent to human nature Through one man disobedience - many were made sinners - Romans 5:12 A man comes down from heaven, slips into the world unnoticed as:
| ||||||||||||||||||
2010-08-25 - Waking Dead - Glory (part 2) Your story does not begin with sin but with glory Bible does not start in Genesis 3 but Genesis 1 God is glorious You are his offspring, his child You bear his image When he made all His creation before man he said "it was good" Only after did he make humans did he say "it is very good" - Genesis 1:31 Your glory is greater than everything else made - oceans, mountains, stars, the universe Saints in the land are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight - Psalms 16:3 Those he justified, he also glorified - Romans 8:30 The fact that you don't see your good heart and glory is proof has effective the assault has been Lion King example It is time for the true king to come back and take over But Simba does not believe who he is His father was murdered and the enemy blamed it on him After years of loosing heart, Simba's father appears to him in a vision: you are more than what you have become The one who is in you is greater than the one in the world - 1 John 4:4 | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-09-11 - Waking Dead - Spiritual Warfare (part 3) Satan is the Father of Lies - John 8:44 His first attack on the human race was to lie to Adam and Eve He lied about God and where life was found He hoping we buy into whatever he is saying The evil one is still lying to us and is seeking our agreement every day Try to hold on to this and see much accusation you live under Your heart is good Your heart matters to God We must make no agreement with him Most of the time we don't recognize the attack because we do not live as though we are at war We assume these impressions are our own Any movement toward freedom, life, God, or others will be opposed Marriage, friendship, beauty, rest - the thief wants it all | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-09-29 - Contagious Christian - People Matter (part 1) We might like the idea of having a spiritual impact on others, we won't take decisive action unless we raise our motivation level The best way to do this is to have God's perspective on the matter 1. The way things are - Science Anthropic principle - when we look at the world around us, the universe was somehow designed to support and nourish human life
We matter to God 2. The way things ought to be - Business Business is turning to the "upside-down" approached They refocus on they are there - to server their customers Focus must be outside the church as well It is easy to get entangled and ensnared in internal issues in our church that it is hard to remember the primary reason we remain on this planet - to reach out to other people If we matter to God, then they'd better matter to us too | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-10-02 - Contagious Christian - Benefits (part 2) 1. Adventure God get great pleasure from sending agents into the world It stretches us beyond our comfort zones and challenges us to take risks on the front lines The Christian list is one of faith Does this excite you? If no, it might be a sign that you've been playing it safe 2. Purpose What is the purpose? God not wanting anyone to perish, but to come to repentance - 2 Peter 3:9 You will start anticipating that He might surprise you at any time with an eternity-altering opportunity 3. Fulfillment We will start feeling a sense of fulfillment that transcends the realm of everyday human experience What else could compare to being an instrument in God's hand? | ||||||||||||||||||
2011-01-07 - Church (part I) Acts 2:40-47
Romans 12:1-8
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
| ||||||||||||||||||
2011-02-19 - Cross of Christ - Kansas City (part III) Pain of Not Being Appreciated Matthew 27:1-31
Matthew 27:32-54
| ||||||||||||||||||
2011-03-01 - Jesus was Human (part I) Examples of Jesus having characteristics of humans:
| ||||||||||||||||||
2011-03-02 - Jesus was Human (part II) Examples of Jesus having characteristics of humans:
| ||||||||||||||||||
2011-03-03 - Jesus was Human (part III) Examples of Jesus having characteristics of humans:
| ||||||||||||||||||
2011-03-31 - Old Testament - Messianic Prophecy Scriptures about Messianic Prophecy
| ||||||||||||||||||
2011-06-04 - Fearing God - Jacob feared Jacob had deceived his father and stolen the birthright from his brother Genesis 28:12-15 While fleeing to his uncle's house, God promised him 5 things:
When Jacob awoke, he was afraid His fear came from the realization that he had somehow been in the very presence of God The fear was not from being conscious of his sin but from his sense of awe The presence created a sense of being overwhelmed by his own nothingness in contrast to that which is supreme above all creatures He is infinitely above the powerful human beings who have ever lived | ||||||||||||||||||
2011-06-27 - Mind of Christ - Helping People (part II) The following attitudes can help bring about a heart of compassion:
| ||||||||||||||||||
2011-06-28 - Mind of Christ - Helping People (part III) Attitude differences between a compassionate heart and one that is uncompassionate.
Which side of the table do I tend to say more of? | ||||||||||||||||||
2011-07-29 - Fearing God - Infinitely Greater Than Nations Isaiah 40:15 surely same as behold Isaiah is saying "Think of this!" and stop and consider and ponder A bucket of water is something a drop is nothing Imagine going to the grocery store to pick up some fruit Once you go through the checkout line and saying "Please wipe the dust off, I don't want to pay for the dust" The concern seems absurd - that is how God sees the nations This is not to say nations are not imposing on a human level - just shows how infinitely greater God is Isaiah 40:16 - all the cedars in Lebanon would not enough for burnt offering Shifts of 10,000 men at a time were involved in cutting trees and floating to Israel's cost This still was not enough to be worthy of the dignity and greatness of God Isaiah 40:17 - Nation as seen before God:
His greatness no one can fathom - Pslams 145:3 We can never comprehend Him but only bow in awe and adoration before Him | ||||||||||||||||||
2011-08-23 - Fearing God - Splendor on Display DNA is estimated to contain instructions that would fill 1,000 600-page books yet it all would fit inside an ice cube Human brain consists of 10 billion nerve cells The best possible end of all God's actions is His own glory Everything God does or allows in all His creation must ultimately serve His glory - there is no end higher How many are your works? the earth is full of your creatures - Psalms 104:24 All creation is an art gallery for which God displays His splendor of His wisdom Intricate designs are endless in their variety In USA and Canada:
God did not have to rely on trial and error | ||||||||||||||||||
2011-10-01 - Genesis 1 - Creation & RecreationSummaryGod created the heavens, the earth and everything that lives. He made humankind in his image and gave them charge over the earth. ObservationsGenesis 1:1 - the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, Personal ApplicationGod is bigger than I think he is. I have made him too small in my mind and do not allow Him to take control -- this is absurd since he has control over the universe and does a perfect job at it. My actions show that I don't fully trust God in this way. | ||||||||||||||||||
2011-10-06 - Genesis 6 - The Flood (part I)SummaryHumankind corrupted the earth with evil. God decided to destroy them. He told Noah to build an ark to be saved from the flood. ObservationsGenesis 6:5 - every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time Personal ApplicationIncrease my faith, Lord! I see Noah's faith to build an ark and I struggle to have faith today.The struggles I face today are not even a speck compared to Noah's troubles. Noah had great faith because he trusted God and what he said. That is what I need to do. | ||||||||||||||||||
2012-11-02 - Centrality of the Heart (part II) The Christian life is a love affair of the heart It can not be lived primarily as a set of principles What must we do? Love the Lord your God with all of your heart - Luke 10:26 The truth of the gospel is intended to free us to love God If we ignore our heart and only try to live out our religion solely as correct doctrine or ethics, our passion is crippled What God cares about is the inner life, the life of the heart - Matthew 23:25-28 Our heart is the key to the Christian life - Isaiah 29:13 Paul - the hardness of the heart is behind all the addictions and evils of the human race - Romans 1:21-25 Above all we are to guard our heart It was from the longing of our hearts that most of us first responded to Jesus What changed? It is possible to recover from the lost life of the heart - we must leave what is familiar and comfortable Change our heart and go back to when we lived with our heart, a heart of a child - Mark 10:15 | ||||||||||||||||||
2012-11-07 - Message of the Arrows (part I) There are two things that pierce the human heart: beauty and affliction David describes the enemies ways as arrows - Psalms 91:3-5 We have many arrows that fly in during our life:
What will we do with the Arrows we have known? The message of the Arrows is always the same: Kill your heart How did the Arrows come to you? Deciding not to be affected can not done - the heart can not be managed though a x number step process | ||||||||||||||||||
2013-01-01 - Prayer of the Righeous - God is a Consuming Fire (part I) God is a consuming fire who should be feared - Hebrews 12:29 He is God who wants us to love him and not idols - Deuteronomy 4:24 God is a blessed and only Ruler, king of kings and lord of Lords - 1 Timothy 6:15 Our problem is that we think God is like us Societies throughout history have developed their own relgions based off God's which human resemblance:
Our Father is without blemish or stain The paradox of God: He says to not be afraid but at the same time to have a humble, contrite spirit - Isaiah 66:2
| ||||||||||||||||||
2013-03-03 - Prayer of the Righeous - More Powerful Than We Can Imagine (part I) The power that raise Jesus from the dead is available for us who believe When we begin to understand how powerful God is, it will revolutionize our prayer lives The Bible resonates with the awesome power of God:
God is nowhere need us as far as this power but on person level he is wants to be right next to us:
Human power is nothing in the face of God's awesome power | ||||||||||||||||||
2013-04-22 - The Sincerity of Jesus (part I) The fundamental virtue of sincerity is what the human heart craves All higher relationships of life have sincerity in its core There are many things we can not be and many things we can not do - but this is one thing is within all of our reach Jesus was incapable of a lie A hypocrite is an actor; the word was orginally taken from the stage The sincerity of Jesus which drove him into deadly conflict with the hypocrites | ||||||||||||||||||
2013-12-01 - Love Your Wives Love our wives is actually more demanding than the task placed upon wives to “submit” to their husbands. The example God gives husbands to follow is simply the most courageous and sacrificial act ever done in all human history.
| ||||||||||||||||||
2014-03-21 - Train Them to Honor Authority (part I) Honor is attractive
The whole concept of authority comes from God. Earthly authority is His design and tool for creating order and for keeping us accountable and responsible, for honoring good and for punishing evil - Romans 13:1-4 Authorities on earth help keep us mindful of His superior, eternal authority God can turn the heart of anyone in a leadership position in any direction - Proverbs 21:1 We should be like Jesus and submit to our imperfect, human authorities knowing that God uses them to carry out His purposes - John 19:11 The only time we should not submit to them is when they are asking us to disobey God and sin - Acts 5:29 Notice that Scripture does not tell us to obey them only if we agree with their judgment - Hebrews 13:17-18 When dishonoring authority, you are not rebelling against an individual but against God Himself. Handling and responding to authority is serious business. | ||||||||||||||||||
2015-03-23 - Cost of Bitterness Asaph: I realized my heart was bitter and must have seem like a senseless animal to you - Psalm 73:21-22 Bitterness cause more damage to our relationships, health, and souls than almost anything else Even as he complained, Asaph had a moment of clarity - I was foolish and ignorant - Psalm 73:22 Asaph realized that his bitterness had cost him part of his humanity He rightly felt a sense of righteous indignation but had crossed a dangerous line of the wicked things to consume his - bitterness Bitterness consumes the one who indulges it | ||||||||||||||||||
2015-03-26 - Bucking the System Officals to Mordecai: "why are you disobeying the king's command?" - Esther 3:3-4 Bible teaches believers to obey those in authority Mordecai was tested when KIng Ahasuerus ordered his officals to bow before Haman - Esther 3:2 He had repeatedly proved his loyalty to the king but he would not bow down before any human God turned the crisis to actually advance the well-being of the entire Hebrew people When you take a stand, you demonstrate the ultimate value of your commitment to God and you encourage secret believers to declare their allegiance to the Lord | ||||||||||||||||||
2015-04-03 - God's Intervention Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands - 1 Samuel 25:33 David found himself on the verge of comming a terrible sin because of human anger:
Nabal's wife, Abigail, kept David from commiting a terrible sin She did not defend her terrible husband but reminded David that killing Nabal would be a grave sin against God - 1 Samuel 25 God has given you ears to hear what your loved ones have to say to you | ||||||||||||||||||
2015-04-16 - Godly Enthusiasm It is not by force nor strength but by my Spirit, says the Lord - Zechariah 4:6 Zerubbabel oversaw the reconstruction of the Jerusalem Temple Over a period of 16 years, the people's enthusiasm for the project waned, leaving it unfinished Zerubbabel felt a deep sense of discouragement over the stalled work Zechariah came with a vital message - Don't depend on your own strength. depend on God and his ability to empower you for the task Zerubbabel's faith was renewed - He had a renewed sense of enthusiasm, united the people, and got back to work No worthy project is about human force or strength, it must be about his mighty Spirit Do you think that you or someone else has the key to success? Do you genuinely believe that God's Spirit holds the key to your success? | ||||||||||||||||||
2015-04-18 - What Pleases God Moses: Lord, please! Send anyone else - Exodus 4:13 What you succeed in doing often depends on your attitude When God first appeared to Moses, his attitude was negative and self-defeating Instead of focusing on the awesome task before him, he focused on his human frality i "can't" attitude can keep you from enjoying the good things God has for you God loves it when you turn your focus toward him and away from your own fears and doubt Is there anything too hard for you to accomplish today? | ||||||||||||||||||
2015-04-28 - Created for a Purpose God created human beings in his own image - Genesis 1:27 Nothing defines and motivates a man like a sense of purpose and reason for being Adam never questioned his purpose in life - The Lord put him on earth to enjoy fellowship with God Adam belonged to God and God belonged to Adam He alone could intentionally respond to God in obedience and love and relate to the Father Adam's sin threw all creation in choas Jesus, the second Adam, came to give us the opportunity to enjoy the fellowship Adam had orginally enjoyed with God - 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 Do you ever wonder why God created you and put you where you are? | ||||||||||||||||||
2015-05-14 - Know Your Identity Give us a king to judge us like the other nations have - 1 Samuel 8:5 God wanted Israel to be different from any other kingdom on earth Israel's elders wanted Samuel to give them a human king so they could fit in with the pagan nations God: "it's me they are rejecting, not you. They don't want me to be their king any longer" - 1 Samuel 8:7-8 Samuel did as God had told him as warned the people of the consequences of rejecting their true king When Israel's elders looked at the nations around them, they lost sight of their own identity Things were never the same for the name Whom do you trust to guide and lead you in every area of your life?
| ||||||||||||||||||
2015-06-06 - Man of Hope Even when there was no hope, Abraham kept hoping of becoming a father of man nations - Romans 4:18 Hope - a sense of expectancy even when the circumstaces suggest packing it in and giving up At age 100 years Abraham still had no children Humanly speaking, Abraham had every reason to wonder if God had forgotten his promise Abraham remained convicted God would keep all his promises God blessed Abraham and his wife with a son - he became a father of many nations Those who trust in me will never be put to shaem - Isaiah 49:23 Has God given you an yet-to-be-fullfilled promise? Have you grown weary in waiting? | ||||||||||||||||||
2015-07-08 - Anticipation Rewarded Holy Spirit reveal to him that he woul not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah - Luke 2:26 Humans are creatures of anticipation. Serveral studies show expectation of something good benefits our health and sense of well-being Simon had lived a long life of such close fellowship with God and the Holy Spirit told him he would see the Messiah A voice told him to go to the Temple, this was his day When Simon saw baby Jesus, he knew immediately that this was the One he had been waiting for Simon: Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people - Luke 2:29-31 | ||||||||||||||||||
2015-07-16 - Compassion When he saw the man, he felt compassion for him - Luke 10:33 It is easy to have compassion for those we are close to but what about those we don't know or don't like? When we reach out to a stranger or enemy, we will receive a reward from heaven - Luke 6:35-36 Jew and Samaritan didn't care much for one another, Jews saw Samaritan:
This particular Samaritan didn't see the man lying in the ditch as an enemy or someone who hated him. The Samaritan saw him as a human in need and took the extra steps to care for them This kind of love and compassion is what Jesus extends to you |