Archives for September 2015 | Overflow Church Grand Prairie, Tx | Notes
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Fascinate- Responding

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We are created for Gods pleasure

Colossians 1:16 (NLT) Everything was created through him and for him.
Revelation 4:8-11(NLT) Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

(KJV) For thy pleasure they are and were created.
“We were created for out of his pleasure, for his pleasure and to experience his pleasure.

We are designed to worship.
“It’s in our design to worship Him, to deviate from that is a violation.”


God is not looking for worship, He is looking for worshippers.

John 4:19-24 (NLT) “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”


Living in Response:
1. Attention-Undivided attention.
Exodus 20:3-5 (NLT) “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.

WHAT HAS YOUR ATTENTION?

2. Affection-

Luke 10:25-28 (NLT) One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”


We are simply
responding to his affections:
Psalm 139:17-18 (NLT) How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!

Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV) I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Fascinate- Wonder Full

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Fascination: (fas·ci·na·tion) n. 1. power to capture attention: the power to hold somebody's attention completely or irresistibly 2. something fascinating: something that inspires great interest 3. interest in something: complete absorption in something interesting.


Realities in Living Fascinated
1. Jesus is Full of Breath taking Wonder!
WONDER-FUL. Jesus and the life he offers us.
Mark 9:15 (NIV) As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.


Revelation 4:2-4
(NIV) I was in the Spirit and…Throne set in heaven, and One sat on the Throne. He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the Throne, in appearance like an emerald.

“When you start to see Jesus worship is not a task…its a Response.!”

Revelation 4:8 (NIV) Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

What we don't know is more valuable that what we do know.”
2. He is mysterious but not unsearchable.
A. Revelation and knowledge are not the same thing.
Knowledge will Puff and fill you with pride in what you know.
Revelation will Inspire wonder and drive you to discover what you don't know.

B. When the Holy Spirit took up residence in your life he established in to a capacity to receive revelation
Mark 4:11-12 (NIV) He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”

It brings him pleasure to bring revelation to us:
Ephesians 1:9
(NIV) He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ.

3. He invites us to explore his wonder
Ephesians 1: 17-19 (NIV) I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength.

Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

Psalm 16:5-9 (NIV) LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure,

Matthew 13:45 & 46 The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Refuge: Life in the Shelter

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Psalm 17:8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.

Matthew 23:37-39
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate. For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!’”

A couple of things from this text…
1. He is FULL of Mercy
2. He is a Community Builder

Living in the Shelter
Psalm 91:1-4 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings.
This I declare about the LORD…
1. He alone is my refuge.
Psalms 34:8
Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

2. He is my God, and I trust him.
John 5:37-40 (NLT) And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you. “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.

Benefits of those that take Refuge:
Psalm 36:7-9 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

  • Fulfillment Satisfaction- "They shall be abundantly satisfied!"

  • Joy & Delight "You give them drink from your river of delights."

  • Overflowing Life "With you is the fountain of life."

  • Revelation ”In your light—we shall see light."


Malachi 4:2-3 “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

Refuge: Thru Fire

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Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

James 1:2-3 (NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

Daniel 3:1-7 (NLT) King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up. So all these officials came and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then a herald shouted out, “People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command! When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Daniel 3:12 “
But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.”

Daniel 3:14-18 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

1. Never compromise the
Mission: to advance the Kingdom.
2. Never compromise the
Message: The Gospel- biblical world view.
3. Never compromise the Core Methods: The method of love, not reacting but responding, with mercy not frustration, with tenderness not tension.

Resisting compromise:
1- Don’t get comfortable
1 Peter 2:11-12 (NIV) Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

2. Embrace your contrast
2 Corinthians 6:14, 17(NLT) Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?…(17)Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things…

3. Expect opposition.
John 15:18-19 (NLT) “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.
“I wonder if we don't see more miracles because we are living at the mercy of our culture and not dependent mercy of our God!”

4. Strengthen your stand-
Daniel 3:18But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

Ephesians 6:13 (NIV) Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

5. Remember we are Never alone
Daniel 3:24-25 But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?” “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied. “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!”
Matthew 28:20 “I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Ministry:
Isaiah 43:2
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.