Text: 2 Corinthians 6:14
Paul is trying to right the “ship,” get the church at Corinth back on course.
He wants them to reclaim what they previously had.
The Corinthian church had fallen from grace.
This same church had flourished while Paul was their presence, but faded when he was away.
The church which had been growing and vibrant, was falling into disrepair during Paul’s absence.
They had been a wealthy and warn church, moving in the Spirit in the midst of a bustling hub of commerce.
Plutarch says that Corinth was one of three economic centers in the Hellenic world.
The congregation was made up of well-off people.
So, in the midst of a thriving community, we see a hurting church; a church that is failing.
Several weeks ago, we spoke about favor,
Favor falls on the folk that God wants to partner with.
Favor means you have the focused attention of God in your life because He wants to use you.
Favor is focused on a few.
The church in Rome had been walking in favor because they became willing workers for God.
The Corinthians, we are told in the text have yoked themselves to unbelievers. This is the reason they had fallen from favor.
Church work is not hard work, it is right work.
The church should be a place of joy, happiness, moving in one accord; but too often the work is hard, stressful and frustrating.
It should be a place of faith, not frustration.
Paul is trying to help them get back to right work ethic- ethos.
Yoking with unbelievers will cause favor to leave your life.
Paul's metaphor is usually attributed to marriage, but that is not what he is talking about.
Paul is referring to church relationship, community relations.
The Corinthian church had allowed their worldly workers to mix with the holy workers.
They had yoked with people of affluence and influence; people who had agendas other than to glorify God. They worked for other things.
Be careful who you align yourself with.
The Corinthian church had become a faith-sick church.
Paul was explaining to the church, and us, that we must allow Jesus to be yoked with us. He is the one person who must be yoked with us, so that He can lead us "all the way."
Stop trying to worship and work with the weight of the world on us.
A yoke is a harness which is attached to a plow for the purpose of doing work.
When you're trying to get your work done, you need to be hooked up with someone who is moving forward.
Plow the good ground that God has laid before you in your life.
Get out of those rocking chairs and loungers and do something for the Lord.
A yoke is not built for one person, but for two.
Who have you yoked yourself up with today?
Separate from those who are dragging you down.
Matthew 11:29 "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Yoke with someone who will walk with you, work with you.
Jesus will be in the yoke with you, so you can work, walk and move together.
When you fall, He will lift you up.
He will lead you along the path.
"Yoke of life is not made for one, it is made for Jesus and you."
We, as the church in Corinth need to get back to faith of trusting in Jesus.
Many of us have too many rocks in our wagon. We drag these rocks with us as we try to do the work of the Lord. Jesus (yoked to you) came to lift and lead.
Personal commentary: Unlike the church at Corinth, we don't have the Apostle Paul to come rushing in to help us right our ship, the church. We need to take a step back and see who and what we have yoked ourselves to. We must continually remind ourselves about Who our ship truly belongs to, and get back to the work we have been sent to do. Ultimately what happens is in God's hands, but we need to be serious about doing our part to get back on the path.
The fact that we are to be yoked to the Lord does not mean that He is going to drag us along.
So...stand up, speak up, take your responsibility, and help right the ship!
[This week's lesson starts tomorrow]
Showing posts with label notes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label notes. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
The Favor of a Few / Sermon Notes 5-1-11
Text: Romans 11:1-12
If you are in, or of the Father, or a follower of Jesus, you must wrestle with the question of faith.
We must get a fresh focus on what favor means.
We must learn how to apply favor in and around our lives.
"How many of you need favor?"
Paul is making a provocative proposal to God's people.
The Book of Romans represents the theological lynchpin to the New Testament.
The 10th and 11th chapters, Paul asks, "Is it worth anything to still allow the Jews to be in 'it'?"
The Gentiles have started gaining in prominence in the church, and are looking down on the Jews.
Paul is telling the Gentiles to be patient, prayerful and peaceful with the stubbornness of the Jews.
The Jews have been having some difficulty with the shift in the church.
The past recipients of God's favor are having difficulty with the new "flavor" of God's favor.
The Gentiles ask, "Why should we pray for the past recipients of God's grace?"
Favor, like flavor, can get stale.
Romans 10:2 - the Jews have a zeal of God, but none of God's righteousness. They have fallen out of favor by trying to establish their own righteousness (following the Law)
Favor is not perpetual, it is positional. Favor is based on your position in God, and the willingness to walk with God.
Favor must be re-appropriated on a seasonal basis
Verse 1 asks, has God cast away His people? Has He separated Himself from them? If this is the case, Paul himself would be forced out, as he is a Jew as well.
Favor is fresh and will fall where He wills it.
Favor is not an individual commodity, but a bundled product, a community commodity.
It's not about me, but about "us"
We have examples of people who received favor, but did not use it only for themselves. They shared it, or used it to benefit others.
Abraham- used it to get Lot out of trouble.
Jacob- used favor to allow Laban to get increase in the land.
Joseph- some of his favor fell on the Egyptians, as they prepared for the upcoming famine.
Favor is a community "thing."
What do we do to become qualified? We must be willing to receive God's favor and walk in it.
Favor is a supernatural commodity of God's.
Verse 5- You don't have to receive favor to be in favor.
Just because you are a "good Christian" does not mean that you will always get favor.
We should pray to be near people with favor.
We should stop the "hat-eration"
When someone else goes up, I can go up with them.
I can get next to them, help them, encourage them...
In order to have favor, you need to be bundled with the people receiving favor.
If you are in, or of the Father, or a follower of Jesus, you must wrestle with the question of faith.
We must get a fresh focus on what favor means.
We must learn how to apply favor in and around our lives.
"How many of you need favor?"
Paul is making a provocative proposal to God's people.
The Book of Romans represents the theological lynchpin to the New Testament.
The 10th and 11th chapters, Paul asks, "Is it worth anything to still allow the Jews to be in 'it'?"
The Gentiles have started gaining in prominence in the church, and are looking down on the Jews.
Paul is telling the Gentiles to be patient, prayerful and peaceful with the stubbornness of the Jews.
The Jews have been having some difficulty with the shift in the church.
The past recipients of God's favor are having difficulty with the new "flavor" of God's favor.
The Gentiles ask, "Why should we pray for the past recipients of God's grace?"
Favor, like flavor, can get stale.
Romans 10:2 - the Jews have a zeal of God, but none of God's righteousness. They have fallen out of favor by trying to establish their own righteousness (following the Law)
Favor is not perpetual, it is positional. Favor is based on your position in God, and the willingness to walk with God.
Favor must be re-appropriated on a seasonal basis
Verse 1 asks, has God cast away His people? Has He separated Himself from them? If this is the case, Paul himself would be forced out, as he is a Jew as well.
Favor is fresh and will fall where He wills it.
Favor is not an individual commodity, but a bundled product, a community commodity.
It's not about me, but about "us"
We have examples of people who received favor, but did not use it only for themselves. They shared it, or used it to benefit others.
Abraham- used it to get Lot out of trouble.
Jacob- used favor to allow Laban to get increase in the land.
Joseph- some of his favor fell on the Egyptians, as they prepared for the upcoming famine.
Favor is a community "thing."
What do we do to become qualified? We must be willing to receive God's favor and walk in it.
Favor is a supernatural commodity of God's.
Verse 5- You don't have to receive favor to be in favor.
Just because you are a "good Christian" does not mean that you will always get favor.
We should pray to be near people with favor.
We should stop the "hat-eration"
When someone else goes up, I can go up with them.
I can get next to them, help them, encourage them...
In order to have favor, you need to be bundled with the people receiving favor.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
The Condition of Blessing / Sermon Notes 4-3-11
Text: Deuteronomy 33:1-4
We have reviewed the sorrow, suffering and sin that surrounds the life of Moses' life.
Like the rest of us, Moses was imperfect. He had sinned in the sight of the Lord.
God was still able to use him, and this should be encouraging to those of us who are still struggling with some of the issues in our lives.
God is able to lift us out of the miserable condition of our lives if we are able to follow Him.
Moses continued to follow God in the midst of his failures and faults.
Have you determined that you will not quit on God?
Do you feel that the circumstances around your life negate God's blessing?
"God can do great things through me!"
Greatness is accessible to you, and not just to the pastor, the star singers or the star Christians in the congregation.
You never know what God can accomplish through the circumstances surrounding you.
He can use you despite what's happening in your life.
Your condition does not determine where you can go.
This exodus is also an introduction to something new.
What you need to know about blessings:
1. Someone has a hold of your blessing.
Moses was the bless-er; the "giver" of the blessing.
Israel's blessing was passed on by Moses.
Blessings are frequently passed from hand-to-hand.
Some of your blessing is attached to how you handle people down here.
Sometimes your blessings are attached top other people. How we "handle" people may impact how we will be blessed.
Notice that Israel's blessing is horizontal, not vertical.
"Blessings come hand to hand!"
You cannot stand by yourself, on your own, in your own strength, on an island.
"Who in my life is holding on to my blessing."
Blessings may come from your neighbor.
Ten Commandments: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
You should position yourself correctly with people who are going up.
Some blessings are corporate blessings.
"Pass it on!"
2. The word blessing is a participle.
What is a participle? A word that can function as a verb, which shows action. It is also a word that is an adjective, which describes something.
Many of us are still tossed and driven by the circumstances of life.
Blessed people get up in the morning with a purpose in mind.
You need a purpose in life.
The Hebrew word for blessings is barukh, meaning something good. It means you're working on something good.
Blessing is not an emotion.
Blessing means that you have something usable at your disposal.
Moses blessed people with purpose as they enter into the Promised Land.
The promise is that if you work the land, God will allow the increase.
You cannot possess anything you don't purpose to have.
Unless you purpose to possess, the enemy can remove it from you.
The enemy tries to get you to release your hand from what God has given you.
3. Blessing is about position
You need to be positioned for tomorrow.
Where are you posturing yourself so you can run with God?
Where has God placed you in the work of the Kingdom?
Each group going into the Promised Land had a purpose and position according to the plan of God.
God has a blessing place for you to inherit; to have, hold and possess.
We cannot go into the Promised Land unless everyone knows what their position is.
We each need to get into our place and work what God has assigned us!
We have reviewed the sorrow, suffering and sin that surrounds the life of Moses' life.
Like the rest of us, Moses was imperfect. He had sinned in the sight of the Lord.
God was still able to use him, and this should be encouraging to those of us who are still struggling with some of the issues in our lives.
God is able to lift us out of the miserable condition of our lives if we are able to follow Him.
Moses continued to follow God in the midst of his failures and faults.
Have you determined that you will not quit on God?
Do you feel that the circumstances around your life negate God's blessing?
"God can do great things through me!"
Greatness is accessible to you, and not just to the pastor, the star singers or the star Christians in the congregation.
You never know what God can accomplish through the circumstances surrounding you.
He can use you despite what's happening in your life.
Your condition does not determine where you can go.
This exodus is also an introduction to something new.
What you need to know about blessings:
1. Someone has a hold of your blessing.
Moses was the bless-er; the "giver" of the blessing.
Israel's blessing was passed on by Moses.
Blessings are frequently passed from hand-to-hand.
Some of your blessing is attached to how you handle people down here.
Sometimes your blessings are attached top other people. How we "handle" people may impact how we will be blessed.
Notice that Israel's blessing is horizontal, not vertical.
"Blessings come hand to hand!"
You cannot stand by yourself, on your own, in your own strength, on an island.
"Who in my life is holding on to my blessing."
Blessings may come from your neighbor.
Ten Commandments: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
You should position yourself correctly with people who are going up.
Some blessings are corporate blessings.
"Pass it on!"
2. The word blessing is a participle.
What is a participle? A word that can function as a verb, which shows action. It is also a word that is an adjective, which describes something.
Many of us are still tossed and driven by the circumstances of life.
Blessed people get up in the morning with a purpose in mind.
You need a purpose in life.
The Hebrew word for blessings is barukh, meaning something good. It means you're working on something good.
Blessing is not an emotion.
Blessing means that you have something usable at your disposal.
Moses blessed people with purpose as they enter into the Promised Land.
The promise is that if you work the land, God will allow the increase.
You cannot possess anything you don't purpose to have.
Unless you purpose to possess, the enemy can remove it from you.
The enemy tries to get you to release your hand from what God has given you.
3. Blessing is about position
You need to be positioned for tomorrow.
Where are you posturing yourself so you can run with God?
Where has God placed you in the work of the Kingdom?
Each group going into the Promised Land had a purpose and position according to the plan of God.
God has a blessing place for you to inherit; to have, hold and possess.
We cannot go into the Promised Land unless everyone knows what their position is.
We each need to get into our place and work what God has assigned us!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
In the end, something got started / Sermon Notes 3-27-11
Text: Deuteronomy 33:1-4
The children of God are moving out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.
They are preparing to enter into a land "flowing with milk and honey."
But, before they inherit, they must overcome the obstacles of the past, and come to terms with Moses' place and setting in life.
In the end, something got started. This is not a sad ending, but a joyful beginning.
We frequently look at the end as a fearful thing- end of life, end of a job, end of educational experience...
If you're going to have a beginning, you must have an end.
Let us examine what God can teach us to positions at the end of something and the beginning of something new...
Some people look at Moses' life as a failure because he did not enter the Promised Land. They feel that Moses can't go in because of sin that was in his life.
That leaves us with a question. Did Moses' sin keep him from entering the Promised Land.
Let us look at the end of Moses' life.
His ending is connected to his beginning. The sin in his life did not deter him from the direction God has placed on his life.
His sin did not disqualify him from God's service.
His killing of the Egyptian didn't stop him.
Sin does not disqualify us from our duty and direction for the Lord. We are under his divine direction.
Sin is an undeniable fact of living. Sin will get "on" you as you journey through life. Getting dirt on your shoes is part of the duty.
Temporary sorrow does not keep us from enjoying.
A few roadblocks should not stop us from continuing on to where God is leading us.
Just because you've scraped your knee does not mean that you can't get back into the game.
Only in your determination to keep going forward, will you find your destiny in God.
Sin is a hurdle to overcome on the highway to heaven.
We have too much living to do to worry about death.
Sin can be cleared, overcome.
Sin causes us to stumble. But, stumbling doesn't keep us from staying in the race.
Moses did not allow sin to separate him from his assignment.
There is a difference between sinning and quitting. All of us are sinners. Hopefully, few of us are quitters.
"Your mess does not disqualify you from being blessed!"
Yes, Moses sinned and he struck the rock in anger.
But to all you sin pickers and garbage-getters: Stop picking through other people's garbage to disqualify them and make sure that your is getting picked up / cleaned up! [great!]
Moses looked at sin in the rearview mirror and kept moving forward.
Sin:
1) Separates us from God.
- It makes a space between us and the Divine
- God can reach across this chasm and chaos, reach beyond your failings and frustrations to lift you up.
- God is a lifter of downtrodden head
- He is able to pick me up
- We must be willing to press on
2) Slows us down
- Moses continued the journey even in the midst of his failings
- Faith fights for the future, it does not fail in the midst of adversity
- Paul says that he fought the good fight.
- We are to continue to fight for faith
- You must not give up on God, He will not give up on you!
3) Tries to belittle us
- You are not the sum of your sins
- It is the Christ in us that we must focus on
- Moses stayed large in his own mind
- We must stop looking at ourselves the way others see us. They will try to put us into a very small box.
- God is able to lift us up.
I am standing on a pile of mess, but this does not disqualify me from standing with the Savior, who is working on my stuff.
I am standing on a mountain of sin, but I am also standing on the Rock....
And His name is Jesus.
The children of God are moving out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.
They are preparing to enter into a land "flowing with milk and honey."
But, before they inherit, they must overcome the obstacles of the past, and come to terms with Moses' place and setting in life.
In the end, something got started. This is not a sad ending, but a joyful beginning.
We frequently look at the end as a fearful thing- end of life, end of a job, end of educational experience...
If you're going to have a beginning, you must have an end.
Let us examine what God can teach us to positions at the end of something and the beginning of something new...
Some people look at Moses' life as a failure because he did not enter the Promised Land. They feel that Moses can't go in because of sin that was in his life.
That leaves us with a question. Did Moses' sin keep him from entering the Promised Land.
Let us look at the end of Moses' life.
His ending is connected to his beginning. The sin in his life did not deter him from the direction God has placed on his life.
His sin did not disqualify him from God's service.
His killing of the Egyptian didn't stop him.
Sin does not disqualify us from our duty and direction for the Lord. We are under his divine direction.
Sin is an undeniable fact of living. Sin will get "on" you as you journey through life. Getting dirt on your shoes is part of the duty.
Temporary sorrow does not keep us from enjoying.
A few roadblocks should not stop us from continuing on to where God is leading us.
Just because you've scraped your knee does not mean that you can't get back into the game.
Only in your determination to keep going forward, will you find your destiny in God.
Sin is a hurdle to overcome on the highway to heaven.
We have too much living to do to worry about death.
Sin can be cleared, overcome.
Sin causes us to stumble. But, stumbling doesn't keep us from staying in the race.
Moses did not allow sin to separate him from his assignment.
There is a difference between sinning and quitting. All of us are sinners. Hopefully, few of us are quitters.
"Your mess does not disqualify you from being blessed!"
Yes, Moses sinned and he struck the rock in anger.
But to all you sin pickers and garbage-getters: Stop picking through other people's garbage to disqualify them and make sure that your is getting picked up / cleaned up! [great!]
Moses looked at sin in the rearview mirror and kept moving forward.
Sin:
1) Separates us from God.
- It makes a space between us and the Divine
- God can reach across this chasm and chaos, reach beyond your failings and frustrations to lift you up.
- God is a lifter of downtrodden head
- He is able to pick me up
- We must be willing to press on
2) Slows us down
- Moses continued the journey even in the midst of his failings
- Faith fights for the future, it does not fail in the midst of adversity
- Paul says that he fought the good fight.
- We are to continue to fight for faith
- You must not give up on God, He will not give up on you!
3) Tries to belittle us
- You are not the sum of your sins
- It is the Christ in us that we must focus on
- Moses stayed large in his own mind
- We must stop looking at ourselves the way others see us. They will try to put us into a very small box.
- God is able to lift us up.
I am standing on a pile of mess, but this does not disqualify me from standing with the Savior, who is working on my stuff.
I am standing on a mountain of sin, but I am also standing on the Rock....
And His name is Jesus.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Before the Promise, Sermon notes 3-20-11
Text: Numbers 32:5-9
We are at the end of the children of Israel's 40 year journey in the wilderness.
In their exodus, God has them pause to examine themselves.
The first generation that left Egypt has died off, because of their unbelief.
The children endured famine, and God supplied quail. They gorged themselves on the quail, and God had to remind them that He is not only the God of the feast, but also of the famine.
Be careful not to waste all your living, in excess.
Before the Promise, there is always a test, a tribulation and a trial.
The children even tried to back away from God. When Moses went to Mt. Sinai to commune with God and receive His laws, the people decided to party-on since God had forgotten about them.
Even though the struggle of your trial and the test of your faith has become difficult, just hold on to God.
Here, the children face one last trial as they ask the question, "How shall we possess the blessing?"
God's blessings come out of His grace. And what is grace? The unmerited favor bestowed on us because He loves us so much.
Just as with the current crisis in Japan, we question the validity of God in the light of our current circumstances. Why does He allow suffering?
Just because you are struggling now, does not mean that you will struggle always.
We must summon the faith to make it to tomorrow.
We must remember that God loves us in our ugliness, shame, filth, frailty, limits and in our less.
We need the love of God most when we are at our bottom.
Grace moves God's love into action. Goodness travels on grace's highway.
Some of us do not try to secure God's blessings because we feel that we do not deserve it.
At those times we want to rely on God's "common" graces; on the grace that He gives to all people.
[We become fatalistic] We say, "If God wills it, it will happen," rather than asking for His blessing in our prayer life.
The enemy keeps us bound up. He accuses us before God and before the brethren. He tells us that we do not deserve God's love.
We don't want to position ourselves only for God's leftovers. We want to be in a position to receive God's best!
"I deserve God's best blessing!"
God can be moved by your condition.
It matters whether we perceive God as a mountain of granite or a mountain of grace.
We must climb to that mountaintop to get God's blessings.
The God of the Old Testament is a God of cooperation. He'll work with you if you work with Him.
In the text, we have the Twelve Tribes of Israel. All 12 tribes did NOT go into the Promised Land. Moses becomes upset with the people and begins to pronounce woes on them.
They have corrupted the blessing Of the Almighty God. He feels they have become like the first generation that left Egypt who did not truly believe that God would bless them. The Lord's anger mirrors Moses'.
The Lord says, "They have not wholly followed Me."
Two of the tribes want to get their blessing beforehand!
But God gives a counteroffer. Before you get your promise, you must help your brothers first.
It's not all about you.
Are you willing to help someone else secure their blessing before you get yours?
"If there is anything I can do to help you get your blessing, I'll be there for you."
They begin to work for the blessings of other people, and the Lord's anger turned to favor. God blessed them because of their willingness to help others.
If you're willing to help someone else, God will look in on your "stuff."
Illustration: The Smile-Smile taxi company in Japan.
Here is the link - http://marketplace.publicradio.org/standard/display/slideshow.php?ftr_id=90144
Will you help someone else while your own life is in shambles?
God is a movable mountain of grace.
Illustration- Drake- Yoda Yoda Best, LORD; Best I ever had, LORD!
We are at the end of the children of Israel's 40 year journey in the wilderness.
In their exodus, God has them pause to examine themselves.
The first generation that left Egypt has died off, because of their unbelief.
The children endured famine, and God supplied quail. They gorged themselves on the quail, and God had to remind them that He is not only the God of the feast, but also of the famine.
Be careful not to waste all your living, in excess.
Before the Promise, there is always a test, a tribulation and a trial.
The children even tried to back away from God. When Moses went to Mt. Sinai to commune with God and receive His laws, the people decided to party-on since God had forgotten about them.
Even though the struggle of your trial and the test of your faith has become difficult, just hold on to God.
Here, the children face one last trial as they ask the question, "How shall we possess the blessing?"
God's blessings come out of His grace. And what is grace? The unmerited favor bestowed on us because He loves us so much.
Just as with the current crisis in Japan, we question the validity of God in the light of our current circumstances. Why does He allow suffering?
Just because you are struggling now, does not mean that you will struggle always.
We must summon the faith to make it to tomorrow.
We must remember that God loves us in our ugliness, shame, filth, frailty, limits and in our less.
We need the love of God most when we are at our bottom.
Grace moves God's love into action. Goodness travels on grace's highway.
Some of us do not try to secure God's blessings because we feel that we do not deserve it.
At those times we want to rely on God's "common" graces; on the grace that He gives to all people.
[We become fatalistic] We say, "If God wills it, it will happen," rather than asking for His blessing in our prayer life.
The enemy keeps us bound up. He accuses us before God and before the brethren. He tells us that we do not deserve God's love.
We don't want to position ourselves only for God's leftovers. We want to be in a position to receive God's best!
"I deserve God's best blessing!"
God can be moved by your condition.
It matters whether we perceive God as a mountain of granite or a mountain of grace.
We must climb to that mountaintop to get God's blessings.
The God of the Old Testament is a God of cooperation. He'll work with you if you work with Him.
In the text, we have the Twelve Tribes of Israel. All 12 tribes did NOT go into the Promised Land. Moses becomes upset with the people and begins to pronounce woes on them.
They have corrupted the blessing Of the Almighty God. He feels they have become like the first generation that left Egypt who did not truly believe that God would bless them. The Lord's anger mirrors Moses'.
The Lord says, "They have not wholly followed Me."
Two of the tribes want to get their blessing beforehand!
But God gives a counteroffer. Before you get your promise, you must help your brothers first.
It's not all about you.
Are you willing to help someone else secure their blessing before you get yours?
"If there is anything I can do to help you get your blessing, I'll be there for you."
They begin to work for the blessings of other people, and the Lord's anger turned to favor. God blessed them because of their willingness to help others.
If you're willing to help someone else, God will look in on your "stuff."
Illustration: The Smile-Smile taxi company in Japan.
Here is the link - http://marketplace.publicradio.org/standard/display/slideshow.php?ftr_id=90144
Will you help someone else while your own life is in shambles?
God is a movable mountain of grace.
Illustration- Drake- Yoda Yoda Best, LORD; Best I ever had, LORD!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)