Mark Pt. 32: Aligned With God = Dependent On God

God’s Top Priorities For Us

It is still just Tuesday of Holy Week!!! Wednesday starts with Chapter 14. The final five chapter of the Gospel of mark are DENSE! GRAVITY / WEIGHT. Each day Jesus & His disciples spend in Jerusalem this Holy Week is action packed! Jesus is dealing with everything from big picture ideas to individual examples, all the while teaching directly from the Scriptures. Pay attention to who He is talking to at different times. Today’s passage has: Big Picture / Specific Scripture / Individual Example

Setting The Stage: Christ is Teaching at the Temple. Jesus just told a story that describes the spiritual state of God’s chosen people. The parable of the vineyard tenants. [Grasping for Power] Then in answer to a couple of insincere, ‘trick questions’, He points out how the political and religious leaders have lost their way so badly they are completely aligned against God! [Greg’s Sermon] Directly following this Jesus tells the religious leaders they are completely wrong about God, then He fields a question from ‘A Scribe’. But this guys is different, he is sincere and real and in response to that, Jesus teaches truth to the teachable.

Let us be humble and teachable in all aspects of our life.[Easier said than done] Jesus gives revelation to those who approach Him in faith: This is a massive gift!!!

Mark 12:28-44

28 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

  • THIS Scribe recognizes Christ’s ‘God-centric’ teaching [don’t take for granted]
  • So… He asks; ‘what is the most important thing God would have us do?’
  • Jesus begins by quoting Deuteronomy 6:4-5
  • Then He quotes the end of Leviticus 19:18
  • He says: These two things are of the highest priority
    • How you are related to God
    • How you are related to your neighbor ‘Who is my Neighbor?’
  • The kind of relationship God wants with us includes every aspect of our lives
    • Loving Him with all we have
  • The kind of relationship God wants us to have with our neighbor is loving also
    • You love yourself all the time & in ways that fulfill your needs
    • So we are to love our neighbor this way. What does that look like in ‘real life’?

32 The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him; 33 and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.

  • The Scribe knows the Scriptures so he affirms Christ’s ‘Spiritual Priorities’
  • The Scribe agrees that these priorities are more important than ritual & religion
  • The Scribe quotes Hosea 6:6 as part of his response: ‘For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.’
  • It’s not about religious activity it’s about relationships [Vertical & Horizontal]
  • Jesus is like: ‘You are getting it and that will get you there!’ [The Kingdom]

35 And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”’ 37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.

  • So now that Christ has at least one teachable student [besides the Disciples]
  • He drops ‘Truth for The teachable’ [teaching in the Temple]
  • He takes on a real tricky passage… a real ‘ask the pastor’ kind of question
  • Quoting Psalm 110:1 He asks How can David’s son can also be David’s ‘Lord’
  • The answer is: If that descendant is the God-Man Messiah, The Incarnation!
  • The large crowd liked what they heard…But do they really get who HE is?
  • Then a quick pivot…

38 In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, 39 and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

  • He say lookout for the ‘Scribes’ who do the following things [Corrupt]
  • He is saying not all of them are corrupt.
  • What he describes are people who put on quite a show of their great position
  • Yet they steal from the most vulnerable!
  • They make a mockery of prayer, using it to get attention from people
  • They will face judgement
  • Now it is time for an object lesson, an example of the opposite of the Scribes

41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

  • Jesus is now teaching in the court of Women across from ‘The Treasury’
  • This was 13 trumpet shaped ‘Alms Boxes’ located in the court of women
  • He see rich people putting in many coins, lots of loot
  • And He see a poor widow putting in 2 coins; 1/64 of a Denarius [a day’s wage]
  • In today’s money, a days wage is about $130 so this would be about $2.00!!!
  • Jesus says Her offering is more valuable than all the giving from surplus
  • She gave from obedience not out of calculation
  • She gave from what she actually needed, trusting in God not herself
  • She imitated Christ’s sacrificial giving to us on the cross: HE GAVE IT ALL

TO SUMMARIZE:

Christ gives us a synopsis of what a real relationship with God looks like based on what God has already revealed: Scripture.

The guy asking the question models how we are to properly approach God. [Humble] He’s a stark & necessary contrast, to the majority of the Religious & Political Leaders.

Jesus with a teachable audience, gives a short lesson on how there are some important details to understand regarding how God’s revelation all comes together in The Christ / Messiah. In this, Christ calls His ‘followers’ to lifelong learning = Discipleship [Scripture Study]

Christ then gives US [teachable disciples] two ends of the spectrum as to how people response to God’s revelation of Himself [Scripture]. First we have the Religious Elite, they are immersed in God’s revelation and yet live fake, self-dependent, all show no go lives before God…arrogant and shameless [think vineyard tenants]. Then Jesus points out one person living by trust in God alone… as Our Lord would have each of His followers live.

Theology: What God has revealed to us [Biblical] about Himself that we can comprehend.

Doxology: How one lives in response to [Biblical] ‘Revelation’ / The Gospel. The term Doxology carries the connotation of ‘Worship’ A Response to The Holy…

When you trust who Christ is, and that He, God Himself offers eternal life… You can now live in a state of dependance on God that resembles this poor widow.

What are the top priorities of the life Jesus calls us to?

~ A committed love relationship with your Creator and Savior that is Spiritual, Emotional, Physical, and Intellectual.

~ A lifestyle of consistently, effectively caring for those you are in community with.

Why do we seek to understand the Scriptural Messiah / Jesus The Christ?

~ To properly surrender our lives and worship God we must understand Him as He is revealed in Scripture.

~ The revelation of Christ that leads to salvation and the life of a disciple requires our diligent seeking of Scripture: an ongoing investigation of the Truth.

What does Christ Jesus teach HIS followers regarding generosity?

~ We are to give to the kingdom in ways that place us into dependance upon God.

~ Our giving has a spiritual value, not just dollars and cents value. Biblical obedience strengthens our alignment with God.

/by

Mark Pt. 31: The Enemies of the Lord Unite

Mark 12:13-27 (ESV)

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.

And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”

Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and  the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

Application Points:

God has ordained government and civil authority.

-Pray for authorities (I Tim 2)

-Submit to their authority (Rom 13)

-Obey God and humbly accept the world’s hostility (Acts 3)

-The world’s laws and taxes are crumbs. Give them the crumbs. The riches are the Lord’s.

Resurrection is very real.

-We cannot die.

-The body will rest.

-The spirit goes to the Lord (II Cor 5)

-When He comes back, we are all coming back. (I Cor 15, I Thess 4)

Are you alive? Really alive? Alive in the Lord….alive?!?!

/by

Mark Pt. 30: Grasping for Power

Grasping for Power
Mark 12:1-12 (ESV)
1/14/24

12 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 

•The master has an expectation for the tenants, they are to watch over and protect the property and the crop.
•There is a season where the tenants are put in charge for a time, and then they will need to pay the master his portion, give him what he is due.

3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 

•They think they own something; they are possessive. By their actions they do not recognize the master as the rightful owner of the vineyard. 
•The patience of the master is wild!

“Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.”
Ezekiel 34:2-5

Jesus has been calling them hypocrites his entire ministries. Jesus called the people sheep without a shepherd. And just now when Jesus cleared out the temple, these are all indicators that the religious leaders have failed badly. 

6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 

9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone; 
11 this was the Lord’s doing,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

•God is not a military leader who can be overthrown through a political coup, their mission is in vanity and destined to fail.

12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

•they get that the story is about them but they don’t react accordingly. They still act the part of the tenants, trying to get him arrested and killed. 
•There is a disconnect between how they see themselves and reality. They think they are preserving the faith from a rouge blasphemer. But their actions betray them

Application

Obey the master
•Listen to those who God sends
        •God speaks and directs us through others. Are you paying attention?
•Produce the fruit and give him the glory
        •we are to produce the fruit. Are you? 
        •We are to take care of that which God has entrusted to us. 
        •What has God placed in your care? Are you caring for it?

Keep an eye on the return of the master
•Would you rather he not return because you want to do things your way?

Make Jesus the cornerstone
•Is he the center piece of all that you do?
•We are called to set aside our ambitions and agenda. It’s not about us, it never has been. We are only fooling if we think we can control the situation ourselves

God’s patience had been misunderstood to be aloofness. 

Exodus 34
 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

/by

Mark Pt. 29: The Shadow of Calvary Looms

The Shadow Of Calvary Looms

Mark 11:20-33

As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” (v.20-21)

And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (v.22-24)

Application point 1: There are situations/seasons of life when the Lord appoints an obstacle in our way to develop our faith and/or put His power on display.

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive your trespasses. [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses.] (v.25-26)

Application point 2: Be careful removing scripture from its context. An unforgiving spirit is a great hindrance to effective prayer. An unforgiving spirit blocks our prayers and isolates us from the blessing of His presence and awareness of His grace.

And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was talking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” (v.27-28)

Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” (v.29-30)

And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, from heaven, he will say, why then did you not believe him? But shall we say, From man?” they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. (v. 31-32)

So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” (v.33)

Application point 3: They rejected Jesus just as they rejected John. And He rejected them.

In Summary:

-Our failures are a usual way God grows us, but often He appoints hardships for us to grow our faith, purify us, or protect us (perhaps even from ourselves).

-While v.24 appears to be a broad promise, it is contingent that we approach heaven, exercising faith with a humble forgiving spirit. Being right or getting right with our brothers and sisters!

-The Lord did not argue with His enemies. He did not seek to enlighten them. To them, He had nothing to say. Likewise, to the mockers and skeptics, we are not the ‘fixers’ of them all. We must be Spirit-led and filled. Recognize those He has given to us and move along from those He may appoint to others.

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Mark Pt. 28: Christ is Lord of All, Big or Small

Does Christ control all history and each moment of your life?

The Gospel of Mark:

So far it has taken 10 chapters to cover 3 yrs of Jesus’ life on earth…The rest of the book is 6 chapters to cover 8 days!!!

We just finished Advent, Christ entering our world as one of us.On what we know as ‘Palm Sunday’, Christ entered the city where He would be sacrificed for you and me as one of us. The wonder of Advent for me is that God was willing to come as one of us…And now we see Christ headed towards dying as one of us. Christ enters the city surrounded by thousands…Five days later Christ is Crucified.

Every week until Easter we will be looking at what things were a priority for Jesus to show His Disciples & The World during that last week of His pre-Cruxified life. In our text today He is showing His Disciples that He is in control of it all; Big & Small, The contrast of the Majestic and the Minute. This Scripture declares: Big or small, Christ is Lord of all!

The New year is good time to order your life to reflect a Biblical view if Jesus Christ.

Mark 11:1-18 NASB 1995

1 As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, 2 and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately He will send it back here.”

  • Everyone but the 12 were fearful of Jesus going to Jerusalem [10:32]
  • He gives very detailed instructions… like He is in control of… Everything!
  • The God of Creation & The God of intricate details!
  • He is staging a massive gathering and yet gives attention to tiny details
  • I wounder if God is like that in each of our lives?
  • God wants to involve us in the Big and Small
  • God is Big yet willing to be small…

4 They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. 5 Some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.

  • People don’t just let someone take a valuable animal like that…
  • Key thing for the disciples: ‘They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them’
  • Obedience to Jesus’ Words & Ways is central to Biblical Christ Discipleship!
  • They covered the donkey & the road…Why?

Specific Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy: The coming King!

Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet He is humble, riding on a donkey riding on a donkey’s colt. ~ Zechariah 9:9

9 Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!” 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.

  • ‘Hosanna’ means: ‘O Save Us!’
  • The use of this language by the Jewish people was reserved for The Messiah
  • This is the only time Jesus is truly recognized as who He is
  • He checks out the temple, perhaps making a plan for tomorrow
  • They leave and go to Bethany, most likely staying with Mary, Martha & Lazarus

12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

  • It’s Monday and they get up and head back into the city
  • Interaction with the fig tree is contrasted with being hailed as the Messiah
  • No one is there to see Him come into the city
  • The text makes a point to say His Disciples were listening
  • At this point they are paying attention to EVERYTHING…after what the’ve seen

15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; 16 and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple.

  • The 1st thing He did once He entered the city was to address a big wrong
  • Christ was doing a big object lesson about justice
  • The people who were getting ripped off the most were those coming from afar
  • Selling sacrifice animals at inflated prices & giving them a bad exchange rate!
  • Besides the ‘Sacrifice Scam’ they were also turning it into a ‘Flea Market’!!

17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.” 18 The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.

  • After getting everyones attention He teaches
  • Jesus quotes Isaiah 56:7 ‘…For All Nations’
  • The context of this passage is about God not excluding foreigners
  • Read Isaiah 56:1-8
  • It angered the priests & scribes because He was condemning their set-up: They were in charge.

We end with people reacting to Jesus with fear & astonishment. What is your reaction to Jesus today? The whole crowd was astonished, the religious leaders were fearful…and His Disciples were listening and obeying!

What is the Scripture teaching US and what are WE go going to do with it?

What Jesus is showing us:

God controls all circumstances in our lives, as His Disciples we become obedient to Christ’s words and ways. When we do things with His heart & actions, He is glorified and Scripture will come alive in our lives!

Application Action:

Do three small things this week that are specifically obedient to the Words of Christ.

Examples: Turn the other cheek. Store up treasure in heaven. Forgive your Bro or Sis 70 X 7. Receive The Kingdom like a child.

What Jesus is showing us:

Jesus specifically fulfilled prophecies to demonstrate His Messiahship and His personal attention to EVERY detail, that means every detail of your life. Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem is prophetically foreshadowing His second coming. He holds all history & every moment of each of our lives in His hands.

Application Action:

Make a BIG choice that reflects the Big Picture of being Christ’s Disciple, not the ‘American Dream’ of Success, Security & Status. Remember He is coming back!

What Jesus is showing us:

God is paying attention to the Big & Small; from every plant to nations and churches. He is concerned with what we do as individuals and Members of His Body. As His Disciples we do well to listen carefully and apply such principals to our daily lives.

Application Action:

Ask someone in leadership here at Midtown how YOU can be obedient to play a part in making Midtown Church glorify God more.

For the next three months we are going to examine the last last SIX chapters of this book, events that take place over just SEVEN days! As Christ’s Disciples… As His Body… may we LISTEN & OBEY!

/by

ADVENT: The Fullness of Love

CHRISTMAS LOVE FROM ABOVE

Advent: Hope / Peace / Joy / LOVE

Today, tomorrow this whole season is about love. It’s why God was incarnated. Today is about real love, the fullness of love. NOT what passes for love [affection]. To understand love you have to start with GOD…At God’s essential core He IS love. The Trinity is the perfect expression of love for others [prefect relational community].

God defines LOVE by who HE is & what HE has done! The final Word on love would come at the cross…But it BEGINS with the Birth of Jesus The Christ! The Advent of the Messiah, the coming of The God Man, Jesus of Nazareth…

He came to demonstrate and define The Fullness of Love. God made it personal: He came HIMSELF, incarnated as one of us…He came to complete the story of our redemption. What we call ‘The Bible’. This Christmas let us joyfully receive the gift of LOVE as explained in God’s Word.

Let us learn and apply it with all of our heart, souls, mind and strength!

1st John 4:7-21 NASB 1995

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

  • The love John has for his audience comes from intimate knowledge of Christ
  • God’s essence is love. The Triune Godhead defines love!
  • KNOW GOD, KNOW LOVE…
  • Humans cannot truly love without God empowering it [just affection]

9 By this, the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

  • The ultimate expression of God’s love for His people was the sending of Jesus
  • God defines love as sacrifice for others / Doing for us what we could not do!
  • ‘Live through Him’ = eternal life with God we have by giving our life to Christ
  • ‘In This IS Love’ WE don’t make it happen… He loved & loves us {ponder}
  • ‘This Love’ is God condescending to be one of us, becoming the payment for our sin

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

  • Our love for each other flows from God’s love for us [responsibility & privilege]
  • As we cannot see the wind, we can’t see God…We can see His effect: LOVE
  • God coming to us… as one of us… is the perfect expression of what love is
  • That God would live in us so that we could love like Him… HIS love perfected!

13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us.

  • He says: Here is how we know this love, how we have this love in us: HIS Spirit
  • Only through Biblical Salvation does God give His chosen people His Spirit
  • The Biblical Gospel results in Biblical Confession and indwelling Holy Spirit
  • Faith in Christ as God & Savior leads us to believe and begin to live by love

God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

  • Love is the heart of God’s being!
  • Its the defining aspect of His character, from love flow all the other ways of God
  • God’s Love is born in us by the Holy Spirit [Eternal Security]
  • That confidence is lived out through sacrificial love that overcomes fear
  • If you know that you are ‘Heaven Bound’… you don’t fear death
  • If you know there will be NO punishment for your sin, you live by love, not fear

19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

  • The initiator of all love, of all redeemed relationship… is God Himself!
  • True love of God cannot coexist with hatred of members of of Christ’s body
  • It is commanded of Christ’s followers that we are to love our Christian family
  • If we truly share the love we also share in the abolition of hate in Christ’s Body

BIBLICAL TRUTH

The fullness of love is only found in knowing God [Knowing who Christ is] & being born of God [Indwelt with God’s Spirit]. The Biblical definition of a Christ Follower.

BIBLICAL TRUTH

As Christ’s followers we are hardwired to the definitive source of perfect love; unconditional, self-sacrificial and pure.

BIBLICAL TRUTH

As Christ’s followers, God’s love in us is proven by the gift of His Spirit, which enables us to fully trust Him for today & eternity.

BIBLICAL TRUTH

As Christ’s followers we do not fear judgement for our sin from God because we have experienced the full extent of His Love demonstrated in Christ’s coming to us.

BIBLICAL TRUTH

As Christ’s followers, God’s love in us is not compatible with hatred for other Biblical followers of Christ.

APPLICATION ACTIONS:

Get involved in more intentional scripture study to increase your faith in Christ.

Don’t settle for any other definition of love other than God’s definition of love [Christ].

Ask God to give you assurance of Eternity with HIM by His Spirit so you can live uncontrolled by fear.

Eradicate any place for hate you might have in your life for other Biblical Christians.

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ADVENT: JOY

Genesis 17 & 21
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ADVENT: The Arrival of Shalom

Celebrating The Prince of Peace

What are we celebrating this season? What is it really about? For Christ’s children and those HE is calling to be His; WE celebrate His arrival. ADVENT / ARRIVAL: The coming of the Messiah.

It is the beginning of The Incarnation, the arrival on Earth of ‘The Prince of Peace’. We [Who God’s favors rests on] place our HOPE in the Prince of PEACE. We [Christ’s Body] have JOY because of the Prince of PEACE.

The actual PEACE… the SHALOM is what WE celebrate. The Hebrew word we translate as ‘Peace’ is Shalom. The fullness of what is means is not just a lack of conflict…It is a state of being where everything is as it should be, the way it started out. What Shalom encompasses is: How things are meant to be between us and God.

Perfect Shalom existed in the garden before Adam & Eve disobeyed God. Once sin came between mankind and God, that perfect shalom ceased to exist. God used the Law of Moses to demonstrate that humanity could not create shalom. We could not make things the way they should be, only God could… [HE did]

The birth of the Christ Child was & still is God’s declaration of PEACE to us. This morning it is our privilege & responsibility to glorify God for the gift of Shalom.

Setting the stage; Luke 2:1-7

At that time a proclamation was made by Caesar Augustus that all the inhabited world should be registered. This was the first census, undertaken while Qurenius was governor of Syria and everybody went to the town of his birth to be registered.

Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to David’s town, Bethlehem, in Judea, because he was a direct descendant of David, to be registered with his future wife, Mary, now in the later stages of her pregnancy.

So it happened that it was while they were there in Bethlehem that she came to the end of her time. She gave birth to her first child, a son. And as there was no place for them inside the inn, she wrapped him up and laid him in a manger.

8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

  • In the area of Bethlehem, outside the city [I have been there]
  • Massive fear: they knew this was God & they knew things were not as they should be between them & God [need to sacrifice their best stuff]
  • If you are not at peace with God, His Glory is frightening

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

  • The message was: you don’t have to fear what God is doing
  • The news would result in JOY, not just happiness
  • The joy comes from getting a Savior / The Messiah / God Himself
  • The connection of David is important based on the scripture
  • The uniqueness of this event will be authenticated by the unique birth deal

13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

  • First there is one angel, then ‘A Great Multitude’
  • The angel’s communication has both worship and information
  • 1st God is glorified in this ‘arrival’ of the Messiah
  • 2nd they declare the ‘New Covenant’ where God make peace favored people
  • The Messiah will bring shalom to those who God is pleased with [Grace]
  • God’s messengers declared the end of ‘Fear Based’ relationship with God

15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

  • They must have been stunned for a minute!
  • Very quickly the reality of what had happened moved them to action
  • Revelation made them seek more revelation [seeking the truth]

16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

  • They didn’t wait to seek God
  • It could not have been very hard to find the Christ Child
  • They don’t just stay there looking at the Baby, they broadcast the Good News
  • They told anyone who would listen what God had told them

18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

  • People may have not understood the deal but EVERYONE wondered…
  • The Shepherd’s message had IMPACT [true revelation changes people]
  • Mary treasured the information because she connected it with previous info
    • The Angel & the visit to Elisabeth
  • The shepherds returned to their normal life but having found the means of peace with their maker
  • Theirs lives are now lives of worship based on the revelation of God’s peace

THE GOSPEL Is the offer of Perfect Shalom to you from God

Steps to Shalom:

Start by recognizing that all of us start in a state of conflict with God because of sin.

Embrace the reality that God alone initiates the end of enmity between us by coming to us Himself!

Know that Christ’s coming was the culmination of God’s plan to bring salvation to all peoples through His ‘chosen people’.

The ultimate glorification of God comes from His coming to us to make peace.

The response to the revelation of God’s salvation results in the intentionally sharing of that revelation.

The advent of Shalom changes the world and those who God enables to believe it will treasure that gift by the way they live.

Application:

Are you convinced of your original state of being at war with God because of YOUR sin?

Do you fully believe that it is God who initiates and completes Shalom through the advent of Christ?

Are you active in the seeking and the sharing of Shalom with God, giving Him glory?

Have you put the pieces of what God has revealed to you together so that you treasure the Gift of Shalom with God through Christ?

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Mark Pt. 27: What Do You Want Jesus Christ To Do For You?

Christ’s Disciples = Teachable Servants

This text is totally focused on what those who are Disciples of Christ are to do. How they should think, feel & act. Twice in this passage Jesus The Christ asks believers, What do you want Me to do for you? 1st He asks that question to 2 of His 12 chosen Disciples, 2 of the Big 3. Then He asks that question to one of the least of believers, the last guy you would think understands who Jesus is, a blind beggar.

That Jesus asks those in top leadership & someone at the bottom of the food chain the same question means HE is asking it of all HE would choose to follow Him. All those who believe HE is The Son of David, The Christ, The Son of God, The Messiah.

He has asked the same sort of question throughout the Gospel of Mark as well as the other Gospels. It stands to reason that He will ask His Disciples this question all the time. What do you want Jesus to do for you? Entertain you? Give you self-esteem? Provide ethics & morality? Give you status? Heal you physically or emotionally? Enhance your career? Enhance a relationship?

OR…

Or are you looking for something that doesn’t involve your wants and desires? As bible based disciples of our Lord & Master Jesus Christ we have agreed to ‘Die to Ourselves’ to ‘Be the servant of all’ to ‘Give up our lives for Him’. For those who have done these things, in this passage Jesus is going to once again stress a couple of very significant aspects of being His Disciple. He has taught about these things before and will again: Servanthood & Teachability. That these two stories are together in the text means these two need to be combined in the life of Christ’s Disciples. We are all called to be taught by Christ how to be a servant and how to be a continuing student.

TODAY: Jesus of Nazareth is preparing His Twelve Disciples, soon to be Apostles. He knows His time short, in this narrative we are mere weeks from the Cross. He is going to take the time to intimately teach the twelve as well as give a public lesson.

10:32-52 [NASB 1995]

32 They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful.

  • The Disciples were in awe that Jesus was going to Jerusalem
  • At this point the twelve pretty much understanding who HE really is: GOD
  • Those who followed is the ‘hangers-on’ surrounding Jesus [text separates]
  • That word translated as ‘fearful’ contains dread, apprehension and alarm
  • Mark uses this word only 3 times. They all describe ‘fear of the unknown’
  • They don’t get who He is so they are afraid of His going to Jerusalem
  • His Disciples, who are ‘walking’ with The Christ are not fearful but are in awe!

And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, 33 saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. 34 They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”

  • He is doing more and more intense teaching just for the Disciples
  • He has spoken in generalities about His fate but here He gets more specific
  • He has been preparing them to comprehend what He is doing
  • These are the exact chain of events as they will unfold

So put yourself in the Disciples shoes, how do you react to this?

35 James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” 36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”

  • As a reaction to what Jesus tells them, some start thinking of their ‘Position’
  • Last time Jesus told them He was going to be killed they reacted the same way
  • Jesus asks: What do you want Me to do for you?
  • The ‘Sons of Thunder’ want the ‘Position’ of most honor [next to the King]
  • They are recognizing His coming glory but don’t understand how He gets there

For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him. They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. ~ Mark 9:31-34

38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 They said to Him, “We are able.”

  • Jesus says; ‘Do you realize how I am going to get to Glory?’
  • To ‘drink the cup’ is to receive consequences or be put in a situation
  • To ‘Be Baptized’ is literally ‘to be immersed in’ / totally involved in something
  • He had just described the situation and consequences He would be a part of
  • Christ asks if they are able to take on what He is going to live through
  • They tell Him; ‘Yep! We are all in! [Commitment to Christ’s Discipleship]

And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. 40 But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

  • They say they are all in…Jesus says they will share in what He will go through
  • James is beheaded about 11years after Christ’s resurrection
  • Tradition holds that they tried to kill John twice and eventually exiled him
  • James & John did suffered for God and others, just like their Master
  • But the top two spots, Jesus said, were not His to assign (who might they be?)

41 Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. 42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.”

  • The other Disciples are like: ‘Who do you two think you are?’
  • So Jesus gets their attention and teaches them a lesson He has taught before
  • He starts with how this world works: power & authority are oppressive
  • Sin corrupts all power structures in our world…even the Church

43 “But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

  • ‘Among You’ Among Christ’s true Disciples; Spirit Indwelt Followers
  • Within this group power will work differently based on Christ’s example
  • The positions of power among Christ’s Disciples will be occupied by ‘Servants’
  • Leaders in Christ’s Body don’t exercise authority, they give their lives away
  • They are not driven by status and power but by humility and servitude

46 Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

  • Jericho is about 25 miles from Jerusalem
  • Jesus is traveling with a large group
  • This blind beggar calls Jesus ‘The Messiah’ [Son of David]
  • He asks for mercy… [Good Request]
  • He is told to be quiet…same sort of attitude Jesus’ followers had about kids!
  • The implication was that He was too important to spend time with this guy

49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” 50 Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. 51 And answering him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

  • Jesus is totally assessable, approachable and willing to connect with anyone
  • Truth is He is too important for ANYBODY!
  • We are all equally undeserving of Christ’s attention yet all have equal access!
  • People who know exactly who Jesus, they know He is willing and able to help
  • Constant theme of the Gospel of Mark: ‘Faith of Others’ / Communal Faith
  • Bartimaeus jumps at his chance for an audience with Jesus & the question

And the blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

  • Son of David was an impersonal title, Rabboni means My Mentor / My Example
  • He not only recognizes Jesus as the Christ, but also as his Personal Discipler
  • Not only recognizing Jesus as God; but as his instructor on all things
  • Bartimaeus is an example of faith being expressed in discipleship for us
  • He believes Jesus as the Messiah, is to be his example, mentor and teacher
  • With Christ: Faith that is lived out in humble teachability… brings healing
  • He is healed, but this is just the beginning: Bartimaeus BEGAN to follow HIM

Takeaways 4 Disciples:

Don’t pursue status or position but rather embrace suffering and rejection.

  • Jesus Foretells His sacrificial death a 3rd time, and again His Disciples start thinking of power positions, status and authority
  • Jesus asks them: “What do you want ME to do for you?” and they answer from sinful self absorption
  • They don’t have the Holy Spirit indwelling them yet so they can do nothing other than react in their ‘flesh’

Become a servant for the reasons Jesus did: God and others.

  • Jesus’ Disciples share in the rejection and suffering that comes from living for God by HIS power
  • It is not going top be a desirable life based on this world’s standards
  • Christ’s standard for His followers regarding leadership, stature and power will be Servanthood not Oppression
  • When faced with the reality of Christ’s sacrifice we are not to focus on fulfilling our selfish desires and lusts.
  • Instead we are to put God and everyone else first: SERVANTHOOD

Place yourself under Christ’s ‘Lordship Mentoring’ and remain teachable.

  • Bartimaeus places himself under Jesus’ ‘Lordship Mentoring’ = Biblical Discipleship
  • He wants healing in his life so He can Follow Jesus, not fulfill his own desires

Be willing to be taught a repeat lesson by Jesus without getting complacent.

  • These are similar teachings to what we have seen previously in the Gospel of Mark. Why the repetition?
  • Repetition is important…Deuteronomy means: ‘The Second Telling of The Law’
  • WE NEED REPETITION! Repeated teaching and repeated practice! Following Jesus is the most important stuff we will do in this life!

QUESTIONS 4 DISCIPLES:

Do you want Christ to teach you how to walk with Him and be like Him?

  • For this to happen must embrace being taught the same things over and over again
  • It is a long way to get from you to Jesus.
  • In this scripture, Christ is showing us how we are to be taught by HIM.
  • [Principle, Application, Repetition]

Do you want Christ to teach you how to be a servant and not a boss?

  • What we need to learn most from Christ is humility
  • Jesus teaches us humility by humbling us.
  • The world will teach us how to be full of ourselves.
  • Not just different than the world, opposite the world [last is first, first is last]

Do you want Christ to teach you how to give away your life for others?

  • You and I need to change ALOT to do this. Sanctification takes time
  • A life of Christ’s Discipleship is a life of being a servant and being teachable
  • Recognize you need more lessons & more practice living for God and others.
  • The bar is high: transformation into the image of Christ!

If we don’t get caught up in ourselves, or in status or in what popular culture thinks of us… we will grow in Christlikeness: Thinking, Feeling and Acting like Jesus The Christ / OUR LORD!

WHY SHOULD YOU DO THIS?

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Mark Pt. 26: Lay it Down, See it Multiplied / Sacrifice & Provision

The Call To Follow Christ

A Biblical Truth about God is consistently He calls us to sacrifice our lives and then in return He provides exponentially more than we give up. It is found throughout the Old and New Testament writings. That is the deal with Heaven: What you give up to get there is not even comparable to what you receive there. This revelation about God is is as old as when Abraham sacrifices Issac! [Only Son] Because Abraham was willing to give up whatever God asked Him to give up, Abraham experienced God’s provision, far exceeding what he was willing to give up.

It may seem impossible but Christ’s Disciples do it, have done it, will do it! When they understand the value of eternal life with God, Disciples trade their stuff for it! [treasure hidden in a field]

Over and over again Jesus says: “Give up your life for Me and the Truth about Me!” ‘Your Life’ being everything that matters to you, He calls all humanity to do this. Some will answer that call and some will not. For many it appears to be an impossible thing to do. But Jesus says to His ‘Dear Children’ that those who give up things for ‘My Sake’, will get in return multiplied amounts of what they gave up… Along with persecution … Our passage today finds Jesus and His followers on the road to Jerusalem. Christ’s Disciples walking with their Lord.

MARK 10:17-31[NASB 1995]

17 As Jesus was starting out on His way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to Him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.”

  • What he calls Jesus says a lot about who he thinks He is… He does kneel…
  • He seeks a ‘teacher’ to get a philosophical idea about eternity [head learning]
  • He inherited ‘this life’… now he wants to figure out how to inherit the next life
  • Referred to as a young man twice in Matt. 19, called ‘A Ruler’ in Luke 18
  • Jesus points out the sinful nature of EVERY person…[Except Him!]

19 “But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’” 20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

  • Jesus uses the term ‘The Commandments’
  • He mentions some of the relational commandments that are codified in law
  • I believe there was an understanding that what Jesus meant was ‘The Law’
  • This guys says he has kept them all! What a lie! [a teacher wouldn’t know]

21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” He told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

  • Jesus really loved him AND called him to surrender His ‘stuff / life’… for Him!
  • This demonstrates God’s love for all AND His call to follow goes out to all
  • Christ loved Him, but at the same time knew what his response was going to be

22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 23 Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”

  • Obviously disappointed he resigned to live for his stuff rather than God
  • Then Jesus makes a statement, He is not asking a question
  • He says it is going to be hard to surrender earthly riches for heavenly riches
  • The earthly riches are right here right now… heavenly riches require faith!

24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

  • They are amazed because the ultra religious were also the ultra rich in Israel
  • Jesus then says to His ‘Dear Children’ that those with a lot of stuff will struggle
  • Jesus uses an example that appears to says that it is impossible to enter
  • Discipleship to Christ is hard in general, seemingly impossible for the rich

26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. 27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

  • The twelve are blown away! They thought they were in…
  • A camel can’t get through the eye of a needle!
  • If that is how hard it is NOBODY can be saved!
  • Jesus says, no human can make it happen… but God can do anything!
  • God can even fit a camel through the ‘Eye of The Needle’
  • The unburdening of our possessions gets us where God wants us to go

28 Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said. 29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for My sake and for the Good News, 30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution.”

  • Peter, the instant processor says: We have totally unburdened ourselves!
  • Christ affirms that statement: “Yea, you guys have given up everything”!
  • He says that if you give up everything for ME & THE GOSPEL
  • Now [in this life] you will get a hundred times what ever you give up
  • Relationships / Property / Estates
  • What happens if you don’t give anything up to follow Christ? 0 X 100 = ZERO
  • What else do you get? PERSECUTION!! [Discipleship Special Offer]

But wait…there’s more!

“And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. 31 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”

  • After telling His Disciples they will have a ‘rich’ life on earth as His followers
  • If you give up everything for ME & THE GOSPEL you get eternal life
  • And then Jesus adds this Kicker: Status in eternity is not based on status here
  • What makes people important in this world will carry no importance in heaven
  • People who almost nobody has heard about will be the greatest in heaven
  • The first will be last and the last will be first

TAKE AWAYS

This guy is the product of ‘Spiritual Posturing’ in establishment religion

Wealth & Status = Spiritual Maturity. His claim that he has kept all the commandments is a ‘Relativistic’ look at Obedience.

God’s response to fleshly attempts to appear good enough: LOVE & INVITATION.Christ exposes religious posturing & fronting as a hinderance to salvation.

We want to exempt what is most valuable to us from the list of what we will give up for God. God says: get rid of the stuff I tell you to give up & swap it for heaven! Follow ME!

This guy couldn’t part with his wealth / possessions / status / power. Jesus wants to teach us how money & status will distract people from eternal things.

As Christ Disciples we become ‘Unencumbered’ in whatever way Christ calls us to. We give up: Status, careers, relationships, possessions, where you live…

Christ’s Disciples will give up what they are called to give up, and will receive back multiplied amounts of what they give up. Jesus said it, do you believe it enough to act based on what He says?

Give up nothing: you receive what you can provide, not the multiplied riches of GOD. Giving up wealth & status will make Christ’s Disciples look unimportant in this world. Giving up wealth and status will make Christ’s Disciples great and rich in Eternity.

If you find yourself at the point of surrender…Ask God to give you eternal life, only He can make it happen! If He is making it happen He will ask you to give up something…That is what Christ’s followers do, they imitate their Lord and lay down their life. If you don’t think you can, believe what Christ says, ‘Everything is possible with God!’

Application Questions:

What are you willing to give up to follow Christ? What have you not been able to give up?

Do you compare your obedience to Christ with that of others? Do you think this is a Biblical practice?

What are some examples in your life where you gave up things for Christ’s sake and then received so much more than you gave up?

Lay It Down, See It Multiplied / Sacrifice and Provision

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