4-06-08

Sermon, Forest

Last week: Jesus is not valued at all till he is valued above all.

Mat 21:44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him."

Mat 21
Jesus puts it back on us, because he is not the problem, we are.
28-32 Lip service is not real service. V.31 The Jews of the day say they will obey God, but do not. The tax collectors and the prostitutes initially disobeyed, but really did obey. Mat 23:1-4 pretending to obey God. Do you claim to get it, but do you really get it. Pretend obedience is not real obedience. God is looking for authenticity, he is looking for a consistent lifestyle day in and out. God would rather we say we don’t want God but come to him truly rather than just go through the motions. At least you can see you have cancer.

33-46 Isaiah 5:7 God is looking for fruit in his vineyard. First thing, God is gracious. God continues to send prophets to talk to us, but we continued to reject them. Why is God even negotiating with these people, he owns it all. The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in Love. God is also just and gives the truth. The wrong in this world will one day be right, God has to be just. God is condemning greed, rent to own type of attitude, trying to take what they didn’t own. There is an arrogance in us that tells God that “we got this”. The second sin is the hardness of heart. This must lead us to repentance. Do you show contempt for God patience and kindness. You should look at your fruit to see if you are producing much fruit for God. Are you living a fruitful life for God. You can’t fake spiritual fruit. May God encourage us toward repentence.

Matt 22

1-14 Getting a wedding invitation and being ready to attend. All are welcome in the kingdom of God even though we are “rag-tag”. Taking the kings grace for granted is very dangerous and may find yourself thrown out. Mat 7:21-23. Rev 19:6-8. Our righteousness doesn’t save us, it is a preparation for a great feast that is coming our way. It describes it as a preparation for a wedding feast to come. We are today just like those of Jesus’ day.
We must have a heart of service. Life of continual repentance. Life of righteousness.

3-30-08 Prayer Sermon

Joel B.
Luke 22:17-20 (Communion)
Ruth 2:2, Mat 1 (Eco of time for contribution)

Forest
Sermon (Prayer) ACTS
Pray Continually: Luke 18:1, Ephesians 6:18, Phil 4:6, and 1 The 5:17

We don’t usually go to prayer naturally. All the time we must pray. Prayer is one of those things that is personal. Pray continually because Jesus did. Mark 1:35 early in the morning when it was still dark. Mark 6:45-46 end of the day. Luke 5:15-16, Luke 6:12-15 spent the night praying to God before a great decision. Hebrews 5:7 life of prayer and supplication with cries and tears. Hebrews 7:23-25, Jesus continually intercedes for his people. Romans 8:26-27. Pray continually and he still does intercede for us.

The early church prayed continually. Acts 1:14, 2:1, 4:31, 6:4, 12:5, it is easy to see the early church imitated his prayer life. There we not conferences, there was not books, there wasn’t that many distractions as well though. We often substitute good for best. We run to all the other things rather than the bible. They are bandages on a gaping wound. We have developed less than adequate crutches in our day. The source of their strength wasn’t Jesus physically it was him spiritually. Throw away the crutches and walk with God, prayer and continually.

We must walk with God in Life. Genesis 5:22-24, he was praying probably. There wasn’t a torah or law yet, but he wanted to walk with God and Enoch was swept away. We really need to have an encounter with God. Pray is one of the most important things. Pray establishes our relationship with God. Worry about the mountain goes away when we see God.

Happy Resurection Day

Happy Resurrection Sunday

Listening to God

All of Christian faith relies on the resurrection. 1 Cor 15
Luke 24 – Honestly how do we do that God? Is that really you speaking God?
First hearing aid: Witness
Witnesses in the new testaments are key. This group of women came to the tomb to prepare him for burial. Appeared to Cleopas and 12 disciples. We take eye witness account so serious today that it can put someone to the death. These people were actually still alive and you could talk to others about the Christ and validate it. All you have to do is produce the body from the Jews or Romans in order to stop the revolt, but in Jewish and Roman writings there is mention of Christ, but not the body. You are going to die for a cause, should that cause be just and right? Do we believe, and are we listening.
Second hearing aid: Contemplation/Meditation
Jesus was about getting people to think for themselves. Think deeply what God is asking for you. He keeps trying to get the apostles to understand and contemplate what has just happened.
Third hearing aid: The Word/ This is God speaking
Every time God speaks with people is a awesome experience in the old testament. God became a man so we could hear him clearly. Ant eater and ants J. How does God speak to you, what is he teaching you today.
How is our spiritual understanding of Christ’s resurrection? Do we put our faith in this? Do we seek guidance in this life? Does media influence you more? Do I hear and obey the word of God as God?

How would you know that you are listening to God? Or God is speaking to you?

Luke 24, some signs you might be listening to God. Sharing the message 24/7/365 they shared it immediately. Acts 5:42 day after day they never stopped teaching and proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ. How excited we can get over some simple things in this life. LOTR/ Sport fanatics/ whatever we make a huge deal out of something insignificant. We should be shouting like these things.

Second thing is wonder and worship. We should be throughout the week in wonder and awe of the amazing resurrection and plan God has for our lives.

Third thing is your mind will be open to the scriptures into God’s word. We must make the choice to let Christ and God into our hearts and mind. To change it and mold it. We must change our mind in order to be saved. Repentance toward God, it is a continual state of mind, no longer conform to the pattern of this world.

Fourth sign, absolute obedience. Now proclaim the message to all the people and all the earth. Acts records the apostles dying for the call of Christ and to obey Jesus. What we do in a relationship is sometimes more important than just words. You say you love me but are you willing to show it. Pray is sometimes finding the strength to obey.

Fifth sign, willingness to take communion. The cross must mean something to all of us. 1 Cor 11:25-32

Campus Retreat Sunday

Hebrews 12:1-6
Jesus knew the result was going to be an amazing victory. Suspenseful films lead us to question the motives of the actors and situations, but the second time you watch it you are different when approaching the situation. Jesus knew the outcome and could look past the present and focus on the future. (this is much deeper, look into it later).
Suffering is one of our biggest fears. Megan Fotenot fears for the suffering of the children she sees as a nurse. We worry so much about the suffering at the end of our life. Jesus went towards suffering and toward death, so he could be obedient toward suffering so that he could be obedient to God. We don’t have to be afraid, because the most hardship we face on earth is the worst we will face of hell, and non-christians the best they face in this life is the best they will see of heaven.
God doesn’t expect us to endure anymore than what he had to go through as an example. Through that disciple he shows us that we are his son’s and daughters. It is even scarier to think you are not going to be disciplined and corrected by our father. We have to show proof of ownership as we live here in life. There is going to be a great result in the future. Consider the day in and day out Jesus thought of you when and the sins of the world he would die for and the sinless life he had to live in order to achieve that for us.
Mike Desouza (CULT Leader AMEN J) – Sermon
Mat 9:35-38 He felt compassion for the crowd, we usually feel compassion for ourselves for what is going on in our lives. Jesus felt compassion because they were harassed and helpless. Sheep get harassed when the Sheppard is away or out. Jesus saw this from the people, he saw the people being harassed by the world.
Number 27:12 – Moses and Aaron disobeyed and so did the people, and the leaders will not be able to go into the promise land but they will be able view it from the distance, but then they will shortly die. Moses was a Sheppard of his people, and he needed to lead his people into the promise land.
As a father we you have this protective mentality toward your family and ensure they will be protected from evil. David also cared for his own flock even before he became famous. He protected his sheep from lions and bears. John 10 Jesus said he is the good shepard.
Ezekiel 34 The heart of God starts in v.11. Jesus had the heart of a good shepard. We have got to develop this kind of heart. Is life ever getting you down, or are you feeling helpless.
Ask in Mat 9 is not just ask it is deeper in Greek, it means to beg and plead. He then gives them authority to do the miracles. Luke 10. Do you remember how you felt before you became a Christian. Fill life with everything that was empty. Only after we found God and became Christians is when we were filled properly. Sin can feel content for awhile but we will have to sin more and more to feel complete. Nothing in this world alone will make us feel satisfied until you are filled with God. God knows us all and he knows everything and he cares for everyone the same.
If only we could see others the way we see lost children and abused in the world. Pray because God wants us to have the heart of God. It helps us to see things from God’s point of view. We have to learn to see the way God see things. Pray until our heart changes, until we can be used more effectively. Jesus actually prayed to avoid having to go to the cross. We have the answer, people are searching and we have the key. People commit suicide because they have nothing to live for.
Doctor healed for now, soul doctor healed for eternity. Share the message. Start to have big dreams, start to have a greater level of faith. Starts with prayer and keep doing it till God is using you more than you can ever imagine. Why can ministries grow more than ever before, because it doesn’t depend on us.
Send out workers into HIS harvest field and God wants to have his children back.

Campus Retreat Saturday

Daniel 9
We don’t fight a battle that we can see, but according to the spiritual realm. What you do in prayer reverberates through the spiritual air. It is the most important thing we can participate in. We don’t even come close to honoring this.
God always moves when we are on our knees. This year we are going to pray. We need to be open and focused on how we can get help on that. Prayer is a team sport and may we put that into practice.
Mike – Preaching
Luke 11
These Jews wanted to learn from Christ how to pray, even though they were taught since they were young. Prayer is one of those things we all know we should do it. There are times in your life where you feel great about your prayer life and there are time you don’t. Prayer is one of those things you grow in, prayer is one of those things you have to learn. As young people we need to learn it at a very young age. The 1 Tim 4:7-8 Physical training is of some value, but spiritual value is greater.
If you don’t start talking to God now, what make you think all of eternity is actually going to be fun. We hear about in the bible who pray all night. Daniel was one of those guys who prayed 3 times a day. When you have that kind of a life the lion doesn’t mean much. We defeat ourselves before we even start, we have to train ourselves in this first. Prayer is much the same way we have to have vision and have progressive increase.
Have that kind of faith and have that kind of conviction; we can all be that way. It may take a few months it may take a few years, you can still start today. The basic stance of a prayer is to thank God for what he has done and what he is like. What it must be like to be in the presence of the living God. What it must be like to just see God, and how all the people of the bible fall on their face. The earth can’t hold the presence of God. God’s presence fill all because he is awesome.
We have to recognize Mat 6 your heavenly father knows what you need. The prayer is not for God’s benefit, it is for our benefit. We eat our food, but we forget that it is only by God’s grace we are able to. It helps remind us when we reflect on what we have been given, because God has given us all. Why do we pray about our sins, it is a exercise in humility and understanding. It is a relief when we are open about our life and about what is going on. He continually purifies us and we acknowledge him and what we fall short in. It is important that we pray about being left from sin, so when we are confronted by it how can we fall into it if we truly wanted to have it not tempt us.
If we are not praying about this stuff we can forget that this sin will hurt us Gal 6 reap what we sew. Just because we present ourselves in a better light, doesn’t mean we are right. Eventually you will reap what we are hiding from. We have to own up and realize there are consequences.
Luke 11:5
We need to be bold in our prayers and step out on our faith.
Luke 18:1
Jesus wants us all to be consistent in prayer. Persistent prayer is a sign of faith. We pray because we believe God can do it and he is able. Sometimes the answer is no and sometimes its yes, sometimes it is wait. You have to keep praying.
Luke 11:9
James 4:2, God gives us what we need, not what we want. If we as earthly people know what to get our kids, then how much more will our father take care of us. How crazy is it to want our family, friends, whomever to become Christians but we don’t pray for it?
Our heavenly father knows what we want and he knows every one of our needs. Like a father who wants to love his child, God loves to take care of us. James 1 it taken care of widows in distress.
We shouldn’t say to our God we have big problems. We should be saying to our problems we have a big God. Julie Desouza UK story.

Be content

Communion – Bobby Brown
James 1:1-12
You will go through trials and tribulations. Perseverance is a duty and we will all go through it. We as Christians will have to persevere.

Preaching – Forest Versele
Reminder of NIU shootings, and a disciple Gayle fell to the gunman. Keep the families in our prayers and the shooters family as well. By faith we must move on. God can and will get us past this. A disciple was born shortly after the shootings, one leaves another comes in. All our services will be in our new building. 2222 Wildwood road. First service there this Wednesday.

Mat 19-20
Bill Borden did some radical things for Christ, he gave away 40M to church’s here and overseas. Check out this story. We need to question is this a life worth living? Do we truly value giving it all away for God? No reserve, no retreat, no regret.
Looking at Mat 19:27 We gave up everything, now what is in it for me? Are we willing to sacrifice everything and give it to God? Is sacrificing everything for Christ really worth it for me?
Jesus responds that he will receive more when you die and have eternity setup for you.

Mat 20
This parable is not talking about finding salvation, because no one can work for it. Eph 2:9. Not of biblical rewarding. Jesus is warning his disciples that you have to have the right attitude when working. We are created in Christ Jesus t do good works. If you consider yourself a Christian and you don’t work for the Lord, then you may want to re-evaluate your position. There were no social services back in that day, so this payment was very important to these people. What type of worker are you? Are you setting up a situation with God where I will work if this happens?
Work like your working for the Lord. There is a danger of comparison. We have to watch out to not compare to others. We live in a non-grace lifestyle, you get what you deserve. These men agreed to work for the wage, but they were sour because they didn’t get paid more because they expected more because they compared with others. We tend to condemn ourselves when we compare ourselves to others in their gifts and forget to look at our own talents that God has given us. There is a healthy view of comparison. 2 Cor 8:8 Comparing to the earnestness of others, helps you to realize the potential in your life. We have good news sharing, so we can see that God can work in our lives like they are working in others. It hurts our view of God when we compare to someone else. Why did God pay them last in this parable, so they could see God’s grace toward others and his generosity? Have godliness with contempt 1 tim 6:6.
Second danger is complaining. When the workers eyes were focus on what others received we start grumbling, and we start focusing on the burdens. We start coveting with what others have and we start becoming grumblers. These people were in the state of grumbling. These people see the burdens they see the injustice and don’t appreciate what they have. We start complaining about the certain things we are not. Is the glass half empty or is it half full? Is this our mindset in today? This is an unacceptable way to live. We feel like we are getting a raw deal from God. How greedy is a man for whom God alone is not enough. When people get right with God we should feel like we are showered with gifts. Luke 15:20 is a similar example where the son grumbled over the return of his brother, because he wasn’t getting such great things. It is an honor and a blessing to be right with God. At the end of the day we should just be happy with our salvation. We have to trust that God will give us what is right.

Genesis 18:5 Will he not do right. Free will sometimes make us feel like that is not right. We can approach God with wanting more or we can approach trusting God will take care of us.
We think we can judge and critique our creator. The bible says over and over again we will not completely understand. We may not come humbly and listen, we judge and critique.
Are we envious because God is generous? The land owner paid them what they needed, not what they felt they deserved. Under grace we can’t complain for more than we deserve. I will take whatever you give me God, and be content with what I have. God is generous beyond our understanding, we agree to serve the Lord and nothing beyond that.

Not what am I giving up now, but will it be worth it in the end. God assures us that it will be. We are to be living sacrifices.

Who can be saved

Sermunion.
Finishing up this chapter and almost this book
Mat 19:16-26

3 Questions

What good should I do to have eternal life? This man was very concerned with this question. Today’s society as a relativity of right and wrong. In the Jewish mindset there was a exact right and wrong a good and bad. Jesus knew this man was sincere in his pursuit of God. There is only one who is good. This man may have been looking for something else. We have a lot of choices today in our society. The amount of choices we have can actually cause us stress. The one choice God points this man to is obedience to God. John 14:15. 1 Samuel 15:22. (Samuel called Saul to obey.) This man did all the things required, and still is not satisfied. So….

What do I lack? This man was saying how much more will it cost him to deserve eternal life. We say, but what do I really need to do? That is all we want to know. How much is enough to satisfy the requirements. What is the bare minimum to be a good person. The real question he was asking is what don’t we lack? He walks away sad because his eyes were focused on his money, because he went away sad. If you would be complete/whole then you need to do this thing, whatever that may be. Maybe its our ego, maybe its sensual indulgence, comfort, choice, gluttony, whatever is keeping us apart from God completely. This will keep us from being obedient because this is what he serves. We may obey where our heart is not completely in it. That thing is different for everyone, where do I need to become more poor. Love with our heart mind soul and strength. If anything comes between that happening then you are in danger of not entering the kingdom of heaven. What is it for you? Jobs, video games, or internet. Damian was an important man to another obligation before he choose to take up his cross and follow Christ. You have to search your heart for those riches. Deut 20:7 Love with all mind soul strength and spirit. What would make it difficult to die at the end of this week, what would I have to give up to be satisfied at the end of the week. God wants us to be prepared to rejoice in our death. For every 100 people who can withstand poverty only one man can withstand prosperity. (Not Jesus just a thinker) Only with difficulty will a rich man enter the kingdom of heaven.

Then who can be saved? How does this apply to me? People have walked away sad, because they don’t want to give up these things for Jesus and the kingdom of God. They won’t trade now for later. They may be challenged, they may be convicted, but they don’t change. Romans 7:21-24. The battle doesn’t change when you become a Christian. We want to be obedient, we want to know God, but we wage war with the flesh and mind. Jesus Christ is the key and it is possible to have salvation but through him may we find this.