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Overflow Church Grand Prairie, Tx
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What's in a Name





Matthew 1:18–25 (NIV) 
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” 
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And 
he gave him the name Jesus. 

“You are to give him the name Jesus…”

What’s in His name?
1. Redemption 

“He will save people from their sins.”

Romans 5:8 (NIV) God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

“The cross speaks higher of your value than your sin.”

2. Reconciliation 

“Peace on earth, and mercy mild; God and sinners reconciled!”

Romans 5:10–11 (NLT) 10 Our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

3. Restoration 
He will be called Immanuel: 

The most important question Jesus asked?

Matthew 16:13 (NIV) “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”


Romans 3:22-25 (NLT) 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.

The Light of Life





Matthew 1:18–25 (NIV) 
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” 
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And 
he gave him the name Jesus. 

“You are to give him the name Jesus…”

What’s in His name?
1. Redemption 

“He will save people from their sins.”

Romans 5:8 (NIV) God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

“The cross speaks higher of your value than your sin.”

2. Reconciliation 

“Peace on earth, and mercy mild; God and sinners reconciled!”

Romans 5:10–11 (NLT) 10 Our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

3. Restoration 
He will be called Immanuel: 

The most important question Jesus asked?

Matthew 16:13 (NIV) “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”


Romans 3:22-25 (NLT) 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.

Yes & Amen(Chris Jones)




To Him Who Overcomes: Laodicea





Revelation 3:14–22 (NIV) 14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

3 facets of his majesty:
A. The Amen
"Jesus is heavens exclamation point."

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV) For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

B. The faithful and true witness
• Jesus is the truth(John 14:6)
- He holds the accurate testimony of the father and his promises.
- Jesus holds the authoritative and accurate view of reality.

The ruler of God’s creation.
Colossians 1:15–18 (NIV) 15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Jesus is the reason and the source of all things.

Revelation 3:15–16 (NIV) 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.


Affluent but apathetic.
Revelation 3:17(NIV) You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
Jesus says:
1. Wretched(ouch): This Greek “calloused or hardened,” that is, to be spiritually dull and numb.


Revelation 1:19 (NIV) Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest(zealous), and repent.

The Solution:
Revelation 1:20 (NIV) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

"Following Jesus without fellowship with Jesus is fruitless.”

Revelation 1:21-22 (NIV) 21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”


To Him Who Overcomes: Philadelphia





Revelation 3:7–13 (NIV) 7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 

Jesus: 
Revelation 3:7(NIV) These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
“I am Holy.”
John 6:68-68(NIV)  68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.

“I am True.” 
  • Jesus holds the authoritative and accurate view of reality. 
  • Jesus is the truth about God.
John 14:6–9 (NIV) 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?

“I hold the Key of David” 

Isaiah 22:22 (NIV) I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

Jesus has the Master Key.

Open doors:

“Affirmation without correction"
Promises:
Revelation 3:8(NIV) I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

1. An Open Door.
Revelation 3:8(NIV)… I have placed before you an open door…
“The greatest open door we have is him.” 

Matthew 11:27(NIV) No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

2. Vindication.
Revelation 3:9(NIV) I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I that I have loved you.

Philippians 2:10–11 (NIV) 10 At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

3. Protection. 
Revelation 3:10 (NIV) Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

John 17:15 (NIV) My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

Revelation 3:10 (NIV)  I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

4. Pillars
Revelation 3:12 (NIV) To him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. 

5. Identified as his.
Revelation 3:12 (NIV) Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.

To Him Who Overcomes: Sardis





Revelation 3:1–6 (NIV) 3 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. 4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 

Revelation 3:3 (NIV) 3 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: “These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.”

Revelation 3:3 (NIV) “I know you appear alive: its your reputation
  • A reputation without reality.

Matthew 23:27–28 (NIV) 27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

A reputation without reality.
1. Dull
2. Numb
3. Distant
4Bored 
“Spiritual boredom gives birth to dead religion.” 

5 Exhortations
Revelation 3:2–3 (NIV) “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.”
1. Wake up
Be Watchful, sober-minded, & alert. 

2. Strengthen what remains

3. Remember: What you have received and heard. 
 
  • Gratitude is the guardian of peace. 

4. Repent

5. Obey

Revelation 3:3 (NIV) If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.”
  • Watching stops the thief.

Reward: 
Revelation 3:4(NIV) 4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.

1. Robes of righteousness.
  • By the blood of the lamb Rev 7:14
Galatians 3:26–27 (NIV) 26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

2. Another garment for another event. 
Revelation 19:8 (NIV) Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
2 Judgments: 
1. White throne judgement: Eternal destination. 
(Dan. 12:1-3; John 5:22-29;Rev. 20:11-15)
2. Judgement seat of Christ(Bema): Eternal rewards 
(Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 3:11-15;4:1-5; 2 Cor. 5:10)

Revelation 3:5(NIV) He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life. But will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.

Ministry:
Romans 8:11 (TPT) God raised Jesus to life! And since God’s Spirit of Resurrection lives in you, he will also raise your dying body to life by the same Spirit that breathes life into you!

___________________________
Revelation 16:15 (NIV) “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

Revelation 22:12–14 (NIV84)
12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

To Him Who Overcomes: Thyatira





Thyatira:

Revelation 2: 18-29(NIV) 18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: 
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. 20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): 25 Only hold on to what you have until I come. 
26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter;  he will dash them to pieces like pottery’— just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  

Jesus:
Revelation 2:18(NIV) These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

1. He is the Son of God. 
2. He has eyes of fire: 
  • Hebrews 4:13 (NIV) Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
  • Proverbs 15:3 (NIV) The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.
3. Feet of burnished bronze.  
  • You can only get perfect justice with perfect love and perfect judgment. 

Encouragement: 
Revelation 2:19(NIV) I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

The Rebuke: 
Revelation 2:20 (NIV) Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols

Idolatry: Prioritizing anything over the Lordship of Jesus. 

Revelation 2:21-23 (NIV)21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. 23 Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

1 Kings 16:33 (NIV) Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.

How to recognize Jezebel's influence:
  • Manipulation. 
  • A despising and dismissal of the word of God.
  • A promotion of idolatry:   Greed/Covetousness/Discontentment(Col 3:5, Eph 5:5)
  • Making light of sexual purity.
  • Stirring up discouragement rooted in fear. 

The Rebuke:
“Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.” -Warren Wiersbe

Ignoring or overlooking sin is not kind it’s cruel.

Sexual immorality: sexual activity outside of husband and wife.
I Corinthians 6:18(NIV) Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.

I Corinthians 5:11(NIV) I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

Reward
Revelation 2:24(NIV)  Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): 25 Only hold on to what you have until I come. 26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’— just as I have received authority from my Father.

  • Authority
Revelation 2:28-29 (NIV) 28 I will also give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  
  •  The Morning Star
Revelation 22:16 (NIV) “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

John 1:1–5 (NIV) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

To Him Who Overcomes: Pergamum






To Him Who Overcomes: Smyrna


 


Revelation 2:8–11 (NIV) 8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Revelation 2:9 (NIV) I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!

John 15:18–19 (NIV) 18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

Matthew 10:22 (NIV) All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
  • 360 million Christians,(1 in 7) around the world, suffered significant persecution for their faith.
  • In 2021, an average of 16 believers were killed every day for following Jesus.-Open Doors’ World Watch List


Revelation 2:9 (NIV) … I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

Revelation 2:10 (NIV) Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

The promise is not deliverance of persecution or hardship but a reward to those that endure it. 

Pressure & Persecution:
1. Pressure: What we feel.
 Pressure is the temptation to give into compromise.
2. Persecution: How we are treated
Persecution is any mistreatment aimed at shutting down your Christian message and convictions. 

Affirming Directions:
1. Be Fearless 
  • Revelation 2:10 (NIV) Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.”

A comforting revelation
Revelation 2:8 (NIV) “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.
1. The first and the last: 
  • Jesus has the final word. 
2. The one who died and came to life again. 
  • Death will not be the end of you

Colossians 1:18 (NIV) He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Revelation 2:11 (NIV) He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.”

2. Be Faithful 
Revelation 2:10 (NIV) “Be faithful, even to the point of death.”

Revelation 12:11 (NLT) They have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

There is a real temptation to doubt and to give into fear.

If we are being silent, we are not being faithful.

“Our mission is not to hide as we pray away the evil. Rather, our mission is to advance this Kingdom through the proclamation of His Gospel.”

The Promise: 
Revelation 2:11 (NIV) “I know your poverty —yet you are rich! “
Revelation 2:10 (NIV) “I will give you the crown of life.”

James 1:12 (NIV) Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

To Him Who Overcomes: Ephesus 





Acts 19:11–12 (NIV) 11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

Acts 19:17–19 (NIV) 17 …The name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.

Acts 19:20 (NIV) The word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

Revelation 2:1–7 (NIV) 2 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:  2 I know your deedsyour hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. 

Affirmations to the Church in Ephesus:
1. Good deeds.
Revelation 2:2 (NIV) 2 I know your deedsyour hard work and your perseverance.
2. Faithful Endurance. 
  • Revelation 2:2, 3 (NIV) ... and your perseverance.... 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary."
3. Stood up for truth.
Revelation 2:2 (NIV) "You cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false."
1 John 4:1 (NIV) Dear friends, do not believe every Spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

The measuring stick of testing is Christ and the Word.

4. Hatred of evil. 
Revelation 2:6 (NIV) "You have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."

Nicolaitans:
"Jesus sees intolerance of evil as a virtue."

"We don't want the affirmation of the world; we want the affirmation of Jesus!"

Correction & Directive:
Revelation 2:4 (NIV) Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.

Jesus doesn't just want radical obedience; He wants your affection.

Ephesians 6:24 (NIV) Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

"Don't get caught up serving God and forget to love him."

"He expects and gives grace for delighted obedience."

5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from it's place.
1. Remember.
2. Repent. 
3. Return.

The Reward:
Revelation 2:7 (NIV)
 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." 

To Him Who Overfomes: The Revelation of Jesus





Revelation: The unveiling of Jesus by Jesus to His Church.

The primary theme of revelation is not the plan but the man, Christ Jesus.

Revelation 1:1–3 (NIV) The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Revelation 1:4-20 (NIV) John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits(Sevenfold) before his throne, 

The Seven-Fold Spirit of God:
7 is God’s 💯
Isaiah 11:2 (NIV) The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord.

Revelation 1:5-10 (NIV) 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 
7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. 
8 “
I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” 
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the 
suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus


Revelation 1:10-13(NIV) 10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” 12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 

The Kingly-Priest:
Hebrews 7:23–27 (NLT) 23 There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. 24 But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. 25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. 26 He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. 27 Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.

The Son of Man (Daniel 7) 
The incarnation was a permanent work. He chooses to identify as a human forever.

Revelation 1:14-18(NIV) 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades

John was “in the spirit.” 

Don’t make Jesus so relatable that you lose your reverence.

 Jesus is delightfully scary!

 Physical appearance 
1. Clothed as our Kingly Priest.
2. His Head & Hair: Like white wool. 
3. His Eyes: Like blazing fire. 
4. His Feet: Bronze from the fire.
5. His voice: Sound of rushing waters.
6. His Face: Like the sun, full of light.

Revelation 1:19-20 (NIV) 19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angles of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.  

7 Lamp stands/ 7 Churches.
7 Stars angels/apostolic leaders.

To Him Who Overcomes: Pergamum






Revelation 2:12–17 (NIV) 12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. 14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. 

Pergamum/ Pergamos:

Encouragement: 
Revelation 2:13 (NIV) “I know where you live-where satan has a throne. “You’ve remained true to my name. “You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.”

Rebuke:
Revelation 2:14-15 (NIV) Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. 15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

Beliefs determine behaviors.

“If it ignores God while affirming you, it’s not God.” 

2 Timothy 4:3 (NIV) For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

1. The teaching of Balaam
Numbers 22-24
“What the enemy cannot curse, he will attempt to corrupt.”
A. Eating foods sacrificed to Idols: These believers were not simply eating the food but attending idolatrous festivals and participating. 
B. Sexual Immorality: Sexual immorality is any sexual activity outside of God’s covenant of marriage between one man and one woman.

1. The teaching of the Nicolaitans
  1. Gnosticism: Believers could participate in the drunkenness and immorality of the idolatrous feasts under the pretense of Christian liberty because the spiritual and the natural were totally seperate.
  2. Antinomianism: The gospel frees us from obedience to moral standards. Since salvation comes by faith, believers do not need to repent. Jude 4

Colossians 3:5–6 (NLT) 5 Put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.

A Sharp Sword:
Revelation 2:16(NIV) Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 

His corrective word is discipline: 
Hebrews 12:5–7 (NLT) “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. 6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” 7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?

The Reward: 
Revelation 12:17(NIV) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. 

The hidden manna
John 6:48–51 (NIV) 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever…

1 Corinthians 2:10 (NIV) 10 God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
The escort of the Spirit of God explores and reveals God’s depth.

A white stone

Testify: Come and See







Exodus 3:1-11 
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight and why the bush does not burn up.”  When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

5 excuses of Moses and God’s response.
Excuse #1 “Who Am I”
Exodus 3:11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"

 Acts 7: 23 23 When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.

God's Response: Exodus 3:12 “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” 

Romans 8:31 If God is for us, who or what can be against us.

In the end, what matters is not who we are, but who is with us.

Excuse #2: “I Don’t Have All the Answers.”
Exodus 3:13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, `What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?"

God's Response: Exodus 3: 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you." 15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, `The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.

God answered Moses by revealing His identity.

Exodus 3:16-18 
16 "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, `The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-- appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land…flowing with milk and honey.’ 18 "The elders of Israel will listen to you. 

Excuse #3: “They Won’t Listen to Me!”  
Exodus 4:1 Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, `The LORD did not appear to you’?"

God's Response: Exodus 4: 2 Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 "This," said the LORD, "is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has appeared to you." 6, “Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. 7 "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. 8, “Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground."

Excuse #4: “I’m Not Gifted”     
Exodus 4: 10 Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."

The fear of failure paralyzes your potential.

Acts 7:22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

God's Response: Exodus 4:11 The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

We have to realize that the power is not in our gifts and talents but in the God who gives them.

God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips those he calls.

Excuse #5: “I don’t want to get involved.”
Exodus 4:13 But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it."

Exodus 4: 14-17 14 “Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it."

“The Will of God will never lead you where the power of God can’t enable you.” -Warren Wiersbe.

2 Timothy 1:7 “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and a sound mind.

Testify: Come and See







Revelation 12:11 (NIV) They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimonythey did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Luke 14:15–23 (NIV) 15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 
18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ 21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 “ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ 
23
  “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.

The Lord desires a full house.
There is still room at his table!

“I am not content with having a full heart I want a full house.” 

What are we inviting people to?
1. Jesus. 
“The most significant part of our story is not what we know and where what we’ve done but who we know and what He’s doing.”

John 6:35 (NIV)“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

2. His Kingdom
At his table, we have all we need. 

Romans 14:17 (NIV) The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Come + See 
John 4:13–14 (NLT) 13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” 

John 4:21–26 (NLT) 21 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. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 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. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”  25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”

John 4:28-30 (NLT) 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him. 
John 4:39-42 (NLT) 39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” (And everything he needed to know) 40 When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, 41 long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. 42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”

“Come and see” requires a “go and tell.”
Romans 10:14–15 (NLT) How can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?

If you are not advancing his message, you are not following him. 

John 4:26 (TPT) Jesus said to her, “You don’t have to wait any longer, the Anointed One is here speaking with you—I am the One you’re looking for.”

Testify: Come and See







Exodus 3:1-11 
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight and why the bush does not burn up.”  When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

5 excuses of Moses and God’s response.
Excuse #1 “Who Am I”
Exodus 3:11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"

 Acts 7: 23 23 When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.

God's Response: Exodus 3:12 “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” 

Romans 8:31 If God is for us, who or what can be against us.

In the end, what matters is not who we are, but who is with us.

Excuse #2: “I Don’t Have All the Answers.”
Exodus 3:13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, `What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?"

God's Response: Exodus 3: 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you." 15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, `The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.

God answered Moses by revealing His identity.

Exodus 3:16-18 
16 "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, `The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-- appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land…flowing with milk and honey.’ 18 "The elders of Israel will listen to you. 

Excuse #3: “They Won’t Listen to Me!”  
Exodus 4:1 Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, `The LORD did not appear to you’?"

God's Response: Exodus 4: 2 Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 "This," said the LORD, "is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has appeared to you." 6, “Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. 7 "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. 8, “Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground."

Excuse #4: “I’m Not Gifted”     
Exodus 4: 10 Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."

The fear of failure paralyzes your potential.

Acts 7:22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

God's Response: Exodus 4:11 The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

We have to realize that the power is not in our gifts and talents but in the God who gives them.

God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips those he calls.

Excuse #5: “I don’t want to get involved.”
Exodus 4:13 But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it."

Exodus 4: 14-17 14 “Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it."

“The Will of God will never lead you where the power of God can’t enable you.” -Warren Wiersbe.

2 Timothy 1:7 “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and a sound mind.

Testify: The Inner Witness







Revelation 12:11 (NIV) They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimonythey did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

The Inner Witness:

Reminder: The model we follow is the post-resurrection life filled with the Spirit of God. 

Acts 4:7–21 (NIV) 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 He is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 
16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. 17 
But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” 18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. 20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.

Provisions of the inner witnesses
1. Assurance
Peter started believing what Jesus told him. 
Romans 8:16 (NIV) The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit…
Testifies: Provide confirming evidence by means of a testimony.

Romans 8:14–16 (TPT) 14 The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. 15 And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,” enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!” 16 For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”

When we sin...
1 John 2:1 (NLT) My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 
1. Satan is accusing what we have done.
2. Jesus is declaring what he has done.
3. The Spirit is reminding us who we are.

The Holy Spirit gives us confidence in our beloved identity.

Proverbs 28:1 (NIV) …The righteous are as bold as a lion. 

2. Boldness 
Courage: (Confidence/boldness) the trait of being willing to undertake activities that involve risk or danger; especially that involve being honest and straightforward in attitude and speech.

The Holy Spirit will take you from bashful to bold.

Acts 4:31 (NIV)  After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Matthew 10:32–33 (NIV) 32 “Whoever acknowledges(confesses) me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

3. Power 
Acts 1:8 (NIV) You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Power- Dynamis is the "ability to perform" for the believer, power to achieve by applying the Lord's inherent abilities.

Acts 10:38 (NLT) God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

Testify: A Life That Testifies







Revelation 12:11 (NIV) They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimonythey did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

A Life that testifies.
2 Corinthians 3:1–5 (TPT) 1 Are we beginning to sound like those who speak highly of themselves? Do you really need letters of recommendation to validate our ministry, like others do? Do we really need your letter of endorsement? Of course not! 2 For your very lives are our “letters of recommendation,” permanently engraved on our hearts, recognized and read by everybody. 3 As a result of our ministry, you are living letters written by Christ, not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God—not carved onto stone tablets but on the tablets of tender hearts. 4 We carry this confidence in our hearts because of our union with Christ before God. 

Our lifestyle adds weight to our words.

We have the evidence of a changed life.

Salt and light 
Matthew 5:13–16 (NLT) 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.


A. Salt 
  • Purifier.
  • Preserver.
  • Seasoning.

B. Light 

“We don’t shine our light to be seen but to make him seen.”

Colossians 4:5–6 (NIV) 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

8 practices of a life that testifies.
1. Integrity/ Purity
2. Clarity in truth
3. In Charity. 
4. Speaking graciously.
5. 
Living generously. 
6. 
In humility honor others.
7. Being friendly. 
8. Bringing Quality 


Testify: Less of Me







Less of Me
1. Knowing the love of Jesus
2. Looking like Jesus
3. Following Jesus.

1. Knowing the Love of Jesus
John 3:16- For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Micah 7:18 He does not retain His anger forever because He DELIGHTS in showing mercy.
• He loves you as you are right now
• Not just a more Christlike version of you…

Romans 5:8- But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

2. Looking like Jesus
• My job as a Christian is to look like Jesus
• First TO Jesus… then to others.
Ephesians 4:22-24 To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 5:1-2 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

1 John 2:6 Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Galatians 5:16-26
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. • Jesus wants you to look like Him AND LOOK TO HIM.

Psalm 23 "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want… for HIS name’s sake.”

3. Following Jesus
• What must you do?
• Deny yourself. Pick up your cross. Follow Jesus.

Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?

Mark 10:17-22 As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do so that I may inherit eternal life?” 18 But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth.” 21 Looking at him, Jesus showed love to him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But he [a]was deeply dismayed by these words, and he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

• Fear of leaving everything behind can stop us from following him well.

Matthew 9:16-17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Summer 2022: Good News








The Call to Testify
(Mark 16:15, Matthew 28)
Acts 1:8 (NIV) You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Witness: Someone that bears testimony to things seen, heard, transacted, or experienced.
Testimony:  A solemn statement made under oath or as part of a covenant. The verbal evidence of a witness by which something is affirmed to be true.
Testify — To give testimony in a legal context.

 We have the evidence of a changed life. 

1 John 1:1–4 (NIV) 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.

“We heard about Jesus. We have encountered Jesus. Now we share Jesus.”

The power of a testimony.
“The greatest revelation you will ever have is Jesus.”
Revelation 12:7–11 (NIV) 7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Nikao: To conquer/overcome. To carry off the victory.
Romans 16:20 (NIV) The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
 “Your story is a weapon.” 

What is our testimony?
1. The expression of faith 
The evidence of a changed life. 

2. The proclamation of faith. 

Summer 2022: Stop The Striving- Pastor Brooke





Mark 2:22 (NIV)
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”

Colossians 1:28-29 (AMPC)
 28 Him we preach and proclaim, warning and admonishing everyone and instructing everyone in all wisdom (comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God), that we may present every person mature (full-grown, fully initiated, complete, and perfect) in Christ (the Anointed One).29 For this I labor [unto weariness], striving with all the [c]superhuman energy which He so mightily enkindles and works within me.

2 Corinthians 7:8-10 (AMPC)
8 For even though I did grieve you with my letter, I do not regret [it now], though I did regret it; for I see that that letter did pain you, though only for a little while; 9 Yet I am glad now, not because you were pained, but because you were pained into repentance [and so turned back to God]; for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel, so that in nothing you might suffer loss through us 
or harm for what we did. 10 For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief (the hopeless sorrow that is characteristic of the pagan world) is deadly [breeding and ending in death].

1. Spiritual Growth Comes With Pain

2. Spiritual Growth Comes With Grace

2 Peter 3:18 (AMPC)
18 But grow in grace (undeserved favor, spiritual strength) and recognition 
and knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him [be] glory (honor, majesty, and splendor) both now and to the day of eternity. Amen (so be it)!

Hello Todd, I just wanted to circle back around and see if you had a chance to talk to the church about any possibilities?

Summer 2022: The Fragrance- Emlen Bailey





There are preferences, there are opinions, and then there is reality.

The bad news….
Romans 3:23(NLT) For everyone has sinnedwe all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 

Here lies the issue: We have equated value with morality.

The good news.
Romans 3:24–25 (NLT) 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.

The Gospel. 
Mark 1:14–15 (NIV) 14 Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
1. The time has come
2. The Kingdom of God is near.
3. Repent
Matthew 4:17 (NLT) Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
  • Repentance: A deep and fundamental shift in thinking. 
4. Believe 
Put faith in: Entrust. 
John 3:15 (NLT) Everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. 
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) Without faith it is impossible to please God…

5. The Gospel. 

Romans 5:8–11 (NLT) 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

...
John 8:34–36 (NIV) 34 “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Ephesians 1:7 (NLT) 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

Summer 2022: Grow Again- Stephan Kilgore





Hebrews 13:20-21 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you w/ everything good for doing his will, & may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever & ever.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Landmarks:
1. Life Verse/ Scriptural Themes
2. Life Purpose Statements
3. Standards
4. Patterns
5. Pivotal Moments
6. Mistakes & Success
Loses are redeemed when we learn from them.
7. Personal History

  • Bad experiences can define you or refine you.

Matthew 7:24–27 (NIV) 
24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

Thoughts on wisdom:
1. Wisdom ≠ knowledge
Colossians 1:9–10 (NIV) 9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.

"We are not considered wise with the knowledge we have, but by the choices we make."

2Wisdom is costly. 
"Knowledge is free, but wisdom will cost you."
Proverbs 4:7(NLT) Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!


3Wisdom > Fear
"
Our experiences in this Adventure are to deepen our dependability, not increase our independence."

Proverbs 9:10(NIV) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

4. Wisdom visualizes before it verbalizes.
Proverbs 17:28(NLT) Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.

"Wisdom asks before it answers."

5. Wisdom lives in response.
James 3:13(NIV) Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

-
James 1: 5 & 6(NIV) If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

The Great Adventure: Landmarks



are not well nourished, we cannot carry out the plan of God."

Responding to the word.
Matthew 4:1-4 (NLT) Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread." But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 

The Call
John 4:31-34 (NLT) 31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, "Rabbi, eat something." 32 But Jesus replied, "I have a kind of food you know nothing about." 33 "Did someone bring him food while we were gone?" the disciples asked each other. 34 Then Jesus explained: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 


Exodus 3:1-10 (NLT) 1 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn't burn up. 3 "This is amazing," Moses said to himself. "Why isn't that bush burning up? I must go see it." 4 When the LORD saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, "Moses! Moses!" "Here I am!" Moses replied. 5 "Do not come any closer," the LORD warned. "Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. 7 Then the LORD told him, "I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey…9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt."

GOD'S CALL
1. God calls us in: Relationship
John 6:44 (NIV) No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.  
"The calling of God is a drag if you fight it."

Mark 3:14 (NKJV) Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach.
2. God calls us up. Consecration
3. God calls us to. Assignment.

Three ways to recognize the call
We don't find a calling, the calling finds us. 
1. What do you think it is?
2. What is in your heart? 
We don't all get a burning bush; sometimes, we get a burning heart!

3. Is it bigger than you?

Arguing with God:
1. We make it about us.
2. We make it about the opinions of others.
3. We make it about our qualifications.

God's calling is not about our ability but our availability. 

God wants our yes. 
Success is measured by our yes. 
You can quit a job. You can't quit a calling.

Romans 11:29 (NIV) God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.

2 Corinthians 3:5-6 (NLT) It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant…

The calling is what qualifies.
Ephesians 3:7-8 (MSG) This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities. And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ.

"God takes great delight in equipping the unqualified."

Psalm 37:23 (NLT) The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

The Great Adventure: Guide & Compass





Hebrews 13:20-21 (NIV) May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, & may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever & ever. Amen.


1 John 2:17 (NIV) The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. 

Matthew 6:10 (NIV) Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

James 4:13–16 (NLT) 13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

“To fulfill God’s will, you need to know Gods will.”

 We desire to fulfill the will of God in our direction and in every situation.
1. 
Directional- direction of our life. The big picture.
2. 
Situational- How to respond in situations, daily details.

3 core beliefs to understanding God’s will:
#1. The universal will of God.
  • We were created for dominion(Genesis 1:28)
  • We are commanded to Love God (Matthew 22:37)
  • We are called to believe & follow Christ.(John 6:29)
  • We are commissioned to advance the gospel.(Matthew 28:19&20)

#2. He designed us for His purposes. 
“God isn’t going to fit into your plan; He is shaping you into his!”
Colossians 1:16 (NIV) For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

“God’s will for your life is not about you.”

“We are most fulfilled in fulfilling his will!”

Psalm 139:13–18 (NLT) 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

“God’s plan for my life is My life for God’s plan.”

#3. The Great Adventure begins with Trust.
Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

God’s plan is not hard to discover; at times it’s hard to follow. 

A. Trust Him 
“His path is the best path!”
Romans 10:11 (AMP), No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed.

B. Don’t get caught up in the why’s of life.

Romans 8:28 (NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

C. Acknowledge him always.

D. He will make your path straight & right.

 Direct: “Make plain and clear the path.”

Ephesians 2:4–10 (NIV) 4 Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Poiema: Poetic Masterpiece.

The Great Adventure: Fuel





Ephesians 2:10(NIV)  For we are God's workmanshipcreated in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 

Jesus promised us a guide!
John 16:13–14 (NIV) 13 When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

The Holy Spirit Guides:
1- Activating the Word.
John 5:37–40 (NLT) 37 And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, 38 and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you. 39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.
  • Word - Spirit= Information
  • Word + Spirit= Transformation

John 6:63(NIV) The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life.
"Transformation comes from revelation; 
Transformation leads to demonstration."

“The Holy Spirit not only enhances our experience, He maximize our effectiveness!”

2- Subtle Leadership.
Psalm 32:8–9 (NLT) 8 The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. 9 Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

A. Quietly guiding
Isaiah 30:21 (NLT) Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.
"The Holy Spirit is the shepherd of our inner man."

B. Reminders & Cues
John 14:26 (NIV) But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

3. Comforting us along the way.

"He comforts us in the midst of discomfort.”

John 14:16 I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.

“We don't always follow peace; peace follows us."

John 14:27  “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

4- Developing Endurance
Zechariah 4:6 (NIV) Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.

Galatians 5:16 (NLT) Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

5. The Holy Spirit gives us a compass

The Compass of Community:
We have the word of God, The Spirit of God, and the Family of God for the adventure!

Hebrews 10:22–25 (NIV) 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The compass of community provides:
1. Steady Direction.
Hebrews 10:23(NIV) Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NLT) 9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.

2. Motivation.
Hebrews 10:24 (NLT)Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

Proverbs 27:17 (NLT)  As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Sharpening is uncomfortable but necessary.

3. Inspiration 
Hebrews 10:25(NIV) Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.


Prioritize the family:
Acts 2:42-43 (NIV) They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
Galatians 6:10 (NLT)  Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
John 13:35 (NIV) By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The Great Adventure: The Map





The Fragrance

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NLT
14 
But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. 15 Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. 16 To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

A Fragrance cannot be covered up
A Fragrance lingers
A Fragrance triggers 
A Fragrance spreads


Boldness
Acts 4:13 NKJV
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
Fruit
John 15: 4-11
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Righteousness
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Mockery/Ridicule/Persecution
1 Peter 4:14
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

“The tangible reward of a devotion to Jesus is getting to be His light wherever we go.”

Ephesians 5 NLT
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

The Great Adventure: Exploring God's Will





“The spoken word is a catalyst for bringing death to life!”

Proverbs 18:21 (NIV)  The tongue has the power of life and death.

Matthew 8:5–13 (NLT) 5 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, 6 “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” 7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!
13 Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home.
 Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.

The weight of words
“Our words are a catalyst for bringing death to life!”

1. Words carry authority
2 Corinthians 5:20 (NLT)  So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us…

We have to be under his authority to speak his authority.
Hebrews 11:3 (NKJV) We understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God….

2. Words work with faith.
Mark 11:23 (NIV) "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

3. Words are a weighty responsibility.
Psalm 141:3 (NIV) Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.

Matthew 12:36-37 (NLT) 36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” 

Life-giving Words
Proverbs 10:11(NIV) The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life...

1. Prophetic Declarations
“If it doesn’t possess the spirit of Jesus, it’s not a prophetic word; it's a pathetic word.”

2. Point to Jesus

Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV) 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

3. Proclaiming blessing
Proverbs 11:11(NIV) Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted.

What comes out of your mouth identifies you. 

Ezekiel 37:1-10 (NIV) 1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'" 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army. 


“NO DEAD THINGS ALLOWED!

Can these bones live?


Ministry 

  • Romans 10:9–10 (NIV) 9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
  • Proverbs 10:11(NIV) The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life...
  • Proverbs 10:20(NIV) The tongue of the righteous is choice silver….
  • Proverbs 10: 21(NIV) The lips of the righteous nourish many….
  • Proverbs 15:4(NIV) The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.
Hebrews 11:3 (NKJV) We understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God….

Pentecost Sunday 2022





Hebrews 13:20-21 (NIV) May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you w/ everything good for doing his will, & may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever & ever.

Ephesians 2:10(NIV)  For we are God's workmanshipcreated in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 

God not only created you for a journey, He also provided you with a map for it!

2 Timothy 3:14-17 (NLT) But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 

4 Realities about God's Word.
Psalm 119:105 (NLT) Your Word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

If you don't know what God says, you won't know what God wants.

1. God's Word establishes His standards.

Feelings are flavorful, not foundational.

God is the authority on morality and he has spoken.
I want to please God, not appease the culture."
Galatians 1:10 (NLT) Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant. 

Can The scriptures be trusted?
  • https://overflowdfw.com/messages/toolkit/files/spiritandtruth4.php

2. God's Word aligns our thinking.
  • Romans 12:2 (NLT) Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you thinkThen you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 

3. God's Word reveals God's Ways
The best way to Know Gods will is to understand his ways!
Psalm 36:9 (NIV) With you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

"We don't study the Bible to know the Bible, we study the Bible to know God."  
Psalm 103:7 (NIV) He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel.


The scriptures develop a framework for understanding God's nature and hearing his voice.

Colossians 3:16 (NIV) Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly….
1 Corinthians 2:16 (NLT) "Who can know the LORD's thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?" But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. 
"Patterns Produce Paths"

4. The Word builds our faith
2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) We live by faith, not by sight.
Romans 10:17(NIV) Faith comes from hearing the Word. 


Feast on the Word.
Get into the Word until the Word gets into you. 
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!

Practice the Word.
James 1:22–25 (TPT) 22 Don't just listen to the Word of Truth and not respond to it, for that is the essence of self-deception. So always let his Word become like poetry written and fulfilled by your life! 23 If you listen to the Word and don't live out the message you hear, you become like the person who looks in the mirror of the Word to discover the reflection of his face in the beginning. 24 You perceive how God sees you in the mirror of the Word, but then you go out and forget your divine origin. 25 But those who set their gaze deeply into the perfecting law of liberty are fascinated by and respond to the truth they hear and are strengthened by it—they experience God's blessing in all that they do!



Believing The Word




 

Acts 19:2 (NIV) "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

Acts 1:4–5 (NIV) 4 “Wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

We have the gift of righteousness and are made right with God. 
 Now that we are his, he has a gift to give us!

The gift of Holy Spirit is the gift that keeps on giving!

Acts 2:1–4 (NIV) 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Times of Refreshing
Acts 3:19 (NIV) 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

__________________________________
Luke 11:9-13 (NIV) 9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Ephesians 5:18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit





From Death To Life: Releasing Reival





Colossians 2:9–15 (NLT) 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptizedAnd with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authoritiesHe shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

The resurrection of 2 daughters
  • One from death to life, one from disease and exclusion to beloved identity and wholeness. 
  • One claimed one and one unclaimed.  
  • One loved and one forgotten. 
  • One was bringing Jesus to the need, the other bringing the need to Jesus.
See Also: Matthew 9:23-26, Mark 5:35-43.
Luke 8:40–47 (NIV) 40 Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 
45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” 46 But Jesus said, 
“Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” 
47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, 
“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” 


“In the midst of the move of God, He is not so consumed with the “bigger miracle” or the agenda to address your need!”

“Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
She didn’t just get healed. She got identified as His Own.”


Twelve a Connection? 
A 12 year old daughter & (2)A 12 year old issue

“He has authority over issues we bring him to and the issues we bring to him.”

Luke 8:49–53 (NIV) 49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher any more.” 50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” 51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” 53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.


The road to a Resurrection 
1. Stay Humble. Stay needy.
“Humility keeps us at the mercy of Jesus.”

2. It’s a risky road.
“If it isn’t risky it isn’t faith.”

3. Stay on the road. (Remain in faith)
“The same faith Jairus had for sickness was the same faith that brought resurrection.” 

4. It’s met with opposition

5. It’s His voice that awakens

John 5:25 (NIV) “I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.”

From Death To Life: Words Awaken





God didn’t design you to sustain life, but to bring life.
Genesis 1:28 (NIV) God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number…
John 7:38 (NIV) Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

“Our purpose is not survival; it’s revival.”

1 Kings 17:17-24 (NIV) 17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” 19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” 22 The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.” 

Releasing Revival
1. It’s already in you.
Romans 8:11 (NLT) The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Luke 17:20-21 (NIV) 20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

2. Take responsibility
Verse 19 “Give me your Son”

Revival is our responsibility!

3. It starts in an upper room.
Verse: 19...He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying.

4. Costs us our comfort
1 Kings 17:21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy…
Stretch yourself. 

5. Consistency Counts
Verser 21 Then, he stretched himself out on the boy three times.

DON’T GIVE UP ON TWO!

“A lifestyle of consistency is more effective than a moment of Intensity.”

Matthew 7:7 (NLT) “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on 

Pen My Love Panel





Do You Believe the Word of God?


Faith is not ignoring reality, but it is seeing reality through God’s eyes.


Your Identity Outside of Jesus

Ephesians 2:1 (ESV)
2 And you were
dead in the trespasses and sins


Romans 6:6 (NLT)
6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer
slaves to sin.


Colossians 1:21 (NLT)
21 This includes you who were once far away from God.
You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.


Your Identity In Jesus

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.


Ephesians 5:1 (ESV)
5 Therefore be imitators of God, as
beloved children.


Philippians 3:12 (ESV)
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because
Christ Jesus has made me his own.




Your Purpose in Following Jesus

Ephesians 5:8-9 (ESV)
8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),


Ephesians 5:2 (ESV)
2 And
walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.


Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV)
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so
walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.


Conditions to the Promises

Philippians 4:5-7 (ESV)
5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


Romans 4:7-8 (NLT)
7 “Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. 8 Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.”


Romans 5:18 (NLT)
18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone,
but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.

From Death To Life: Resurrected for Fellowship




From Death To Life: The resurrection of two daughters






  •  John 8:58(NIV) “Before Abraham was born, I AM”
1. Martha’s Moment 
John 11:21–26 (NIV) 21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

  • The grave could not hold Him who is THE RESURRECTION!

John 11:27 (NIV) “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

2. Mary’s Moment
John 11:32–44 (NIV) 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” 

3. Lazarus’ Moment 
John 11:38–44 (NIV) 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

He awakens the sleepers.
He awakens the dead.
Ephesians 5:14 (NIV)  For it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

His Voice in the darkness
1. “Come Out” 
Jesus is always calling us to COME OUT & COME IN! 

2. Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

He is removing everything that doesn’t look like life.

John 11:45–46 (NIV) 45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
.
  • His invitation to the doubters: Touch and feel him then believe in Him

Seven “I AM” declarations about Himself. (John)
  • I AM the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51)
  • I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12)
  • I AM the Door of the Sheep (John 10:7, 9) 
  • I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14)
  • I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) 
  • I AM the True Vine (John 15:1, 5)
  • I AM the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)

Romans 5:17 (NIV)17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:18 (NLT)  I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

From Death To Life: The Resurrection


Pastor Josh’s favorite apologetic resources.

1. Greg Koukl & Stand To Reason:
Clear Thinking Christianity. https://www.str.org

2. J. Warner Wallace: Cold Case detective work on Jesus from historical evidence. https://coldcasechristianity.com

3. William Lane Craig :
Analytic Philosophy & Theology. https://www.reasonablefaith.org

4. Capturing Christianity: Young and insightful, “Christianity is True.” https://capturingchristianity.com

5. Stephen C. Meyer:
Science and Discover https://stephencmeyer.org | https://www.discovery.org/p/meyer/


Our full length videos and message moments:




Audio Podcast:


Scroll down for notes and Individual messages.

Apprehended By Love





Luke 7:11–13 (NLT) 11 Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. 12 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. 

  • Psalm 34:18 (NLT) The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

Luke 7:14–15 (NLT)14 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” 15 Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Mealtimes & Fellowship
  • Resurrected Jesus shows up a mealtimes.
Luke 24:36–43 (NIV) 36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.

John 21:12 (NIV) Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” 

More than a nice guy, Jesus is God who is good.

The ancients believed that if you saw God you died, Jesus showed us that you have to see God to Live.

John 5:25 (NLT)“I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live.

1 John 1:1–4 (NLT) 1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. 
  • κοινωνία (koinōnia). n. fem. fellowship, communion, sharing, participation. A term that conveys a sense of commonality, solidarity, and shared responsibility among households or individuals.
  • χαρά (chara). n. joy. The experience of gladness.

Resurrected into fellowship

1. Know you are loved & wanted
Revelation 3:20 (NLT) “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.


2. Take a seat at the table.
Don’t blame God for the distance.

3. Fellowship shows up in the follow-ship.
1 John 1:5–7 (NLT) 5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each otherand the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.


John 13:8–9 (NIV) 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

John 13:9 (TPT)“...Then you will not be able to share life with me.” 


Philippians 3:10–11 (NIV) 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferingsbecoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

"When we are aquatinted with his death, we experience His resurrection."

About Midnight (Aaron Guthrie)





“There is no deeper subject than the Love of God.”


“You cannot overemphasize or exhaust the subject of God’s Love.”

“The reality is that God’s Love is always underestimated.”

Realities of the Love of God
1. His Love is an unfolding constant.
Ephesians 3:16–20 (NIV) 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the Love of Christ, 19 and to know(NLT Experience) this love that surpasses knowledgethat you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

“We are apprehended by His love as we comprehend it. “

John 17:23 (NLT) …May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

2. His love reveals our value. 

Value is revealed by what someone is willing to pay.. 

John 13:1 (NLT) Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

3. His love is meant to be experienced.
John 13:23 (AMP) One of His disciples, whom Jesus loved [whom He esteemed and delighted in], was reclining [next to Him] on Jesus’ bosom.

1 John 1:1 (NIV) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

1 John 4:9–10 (NIV) 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is Love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins

1 John 4:16-19 (NIV) 16 And So we know and rely on the Love God has for us. God is Love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.

You need God to love God.

4. His love is steadfast.

“His love is unhindered by our weakness.”

“The one who knows me best Is the One who loves me most.” 
-Jonathan David & Melissa Helser

Romans 8:35–39 (NIV) 35 Who shall separate us from the Love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

“Nothing will change the Love of God; it changes us.”

5. Gazing at the beauty of God is how we grow in love for God. 

Psalm 16:8–11 (NIV) 8 I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.


Spirit & Truth: Resources





The Christ/ Evidence for Jesus.

 Is Jesus a copycat myth?
1. Osiris 2. Horus 3. Mitherous
  • Promises followers immortalities
  • Performed miracles.
  • Born a virgin
  • Rose from the dead
  • Born on December 25th

Evidence for Jesus.
1. Secular Historical Sources

Legitimate Historical secular sources:
  • Cornelius Tacitus: (55-120AD) The Greatest Historian of ancient Rome” lived through the reigns of over half a dozen Roman empires.
  • Lucian of Samosata: Greek Satirist of the latter half of the First Century. Despised and hated Christianity.
  • Josephus ben Mattathias(37/38-100AD) Jewish Historian.
  • More: Pliny the Younger, ThallusPhlegon
“No Serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non-historical Jesus.” -Otto Betz

“There is overwhelming evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ, both in secular and biblical history. Perhaps the greatest evidence that Jesus did exist is the fact that thousands of Christians in the first century AD, including the twelve apostles, were willing to give their lives as martyrs for Jesus Christ. People will die for what they believe to be true, but no one will die for what they know to be a lie.” -gotquestions.org

2. Culture  
Jesus matters in Culture: There is more influence from Jesus than any other character in human history. 

“Jesus has had such an unparalleled, thoroughgoing, and decisive impact on virtually every area of modern culture—literature, architecture, music, the arts, higher education, world literacy, even science—that he remains, irrevocably, the one man who cannot be erased from history, even if every ancient manuscript detailing his life disappeared from existence.” - Greg Koukl on J Warner Wallace's Work of Person of Intrest. https://coldcasechristianity.com

1. Literature(sacred and secular)- From virgin birth to resurrection. There is more written about Jesus than any other character in history. 

2. Music: Every historical era of music has been dominated by Christ-followers singing about Jesus. 

3. Visual arts: The gospel could be easily extracted by the multitudes of painted etched sculpted, or crafted about Jesus for the first 500 years of his life on earth.

4. Education: Many Major universities that lead in academia were established by Christ-followers.

5. Science: 
“Christianity gave rise to modern science: The Scientific Revolution (roughly 1300 to 1700) was initiated by Christian theological ideas…
One of those key ideas was the idea of intelligibility: that nature is intelligible. There's an order and design that can be understood and discerned by the scientist because nature is the product of a rational mind, namely the mind of God, and that that same mind or creator who made nature with that rational order built into it made us and our reason, so that we could perceive and understand the reason that he built into nature.” Stephen C Meyer

You can reject Jesus, but you cannot logically dismiss his impact on History and Culture. 


3. Other religions 
Jesus is either 
Merged or Modified
  • Hinduism- Jesus is a wise teacher
  • Buddhism Merge Jesus 
  • New age- Jesus is used in propagating ideas.
  • Islam- Jesus mentioned as a prophet

The Resurrection:
Two major views that oppose the Resurrection
1. Stolen by the Disciples
The disciples stole the body: 
  • Fact one: If the body had been stolen by his followers, all that would be needed to disprove the claim would be to produce the body. No body has ever been produced. 
  • Fact two: There were Roman guards at the site of the tomb. How, then, could any of Jesus' followers have stolen his body? 
  • Fact three: There was a giant stone covering the tomb, which would have taken several people to move. The guards could not have overlooked such an operation. 
  • Fact four: The early followers of Jesus were persecuted for their belief. They were offered two options: renounce their belief in the resurrection or die. It seems unlikely that, were the disciples to have stolen the body, they would have all been ready to die rather than confess their deeds.
>It is true that people die every day for beliefs that are not true. But these are lies that they fully believe to be true. How often do people die for what they know to be a lie? 

2. Swoon Theory: Jesus did not actually die
  • Jesus was almost killed, but perhaps druged so the authorities would think he was dead, or he was just sleeping.
  • He bled in a tomb with no food or water for 3 days
  • He still had the strength to remove the rock covering, which took several men to move. And Overpowered roman guards.

The resurrection is reasonable.

The most significant evidence is that there is a tomb, but it is empty.

“Jesus is not just resurrected; he is the resurrection.” 

The Claim of Christ:
John 14:6 (NIV) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
  • Jesus is the savior; therefore, he can save me and be the savior of every man, woman, and child.

Luke 19:10 (NIV) For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Jesus is the only one who made a way.
1. He’s the only one that could. 
2. He’s the only one that would
3. He is the only one who did
Romans 5:6 (NIV) 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
 
If there are many ways to God, then Jesus died in vain. 

“Jesus is either Liar, Lunatic or he is The Lord.” 
- CS Lewis

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher.” C.S. Lewis

We have to get Jesus right.

The greatest question ever asked:
Matthew 16:13–15(NIV) 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”


More:
Jesus’ unique claims about himself

Spirit & Truth: The Word (Is The Bible Reliable?)





1 Peter 3:15 (NIV) In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

Realities:
1. Truth:
"The truth about truth is that it is true."
"The Christian faith is not true because we believe it. We believe it because it's true."
The demonstration of our worship involves truth.
John 4:23–24 (NLT) 23 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. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth."

2. Myth: Love is all that matters.
"Love may open the door but knowing the truth is what sets people free." 

3. Mindsets and Ideas: 
2 Corinthians 10:4 (NLT) We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.

Post-Modernism:
  • Relativism: That all truth is relative. There is no absolute truth? 
  • Moral Relativism: Everyone should act in accordance with the individual's society.
  • Atheism: the belief that there is no God. 
  • Materialism: The only things that are real are material. 

Is there reasonable evidence for God?
#1. Cosmological Argument
Cosmology: Study of the origin of the universe.
What caused it?
The universe had a beginning & it is expanding.
If it's expanding, it had a beginning. 
"A Big Bang needs a big banger." Greg Koukl

The evolutionist cannot explain how or why: 

We have an answer.
The non-physical God created the physical world.
  • Axiom: Self evident truth. Parallel lines

Romans 1:20 (NIV) For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Genesis 1:1–3 (NIV) 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

Why do we believe in God? 
Because he is the best explanation for the way things are.

#2. Design/ Fine-Tuning argument 
Teleology-universe is fine-tuned to sustain life. 
It was created by a designer, with purpose in mind.

The fine tuning of the earth.
  • The design and positioning of the earth is in the exact position it needs to be from the sun to the sun to sustain life. 
  • The physics of gravity. 
  • Jupiter's orbit produces such gravitational pull that it keeps the earth from being demolished from metor's bigger than the earth.
  • The level of 21% of oxygen in our atmosphere is perfect.
  • The precision of that fact happened by accident is irrational and unreasonable.

Psalm 19:1–2 (NIV) 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

Fine tuning of the body:
  • DNA: In every cell contains DNA that, if unwound, would be 6' of information on how to assemble protein. Unravel all of it, and it would wrap around our solar system twice.
  • It takes a couple just a couple of minutes to create a child. Then the woman's body will provide all that child needs for the childs life in the womb and a couple of years later.
  • The human eye(40 mil nerve endings, 137 Mil light sensitive cells)
"What shall we say of the eye?… that it could have been formed by natural selection…I confess that no language at first seems too strong to condemn the absurdity of such a notion." Charles Darwin 

If we are designed, we have purpose in mind.

Psalm 8:4–6(NIV) 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? 5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet.

"The God who is Spirit, immaterial, spoke his word and created material and breathed His Spirit into the crown of his creation, Human beings, those of whom were made in his likeness."

John 1:1–5 (NLT) 1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

James 1:18 (NLT) 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.

Spirit & Truth: The Christ (Evidence for Jesus)





Common objections of the Bible:
1. The Bible has been disproven.
  • The New Testament has held up to stricter scrutiny than any other historical document. 
  •  "No archeological discovery has ever controverted(contradicted) a Biblical reference. Scores of archeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible." Dr. Nelson Glueck, Modern authority on Israeli archeology
2. The Bible is irrelevant and outdated.
"Many want to construct a palatable and pliable Jesus so that they can fashion him to whatever lifestyle, ideology, or agenda they like."

3. The Bible is pro-slavery and anti-women 
  • Described vs. prescribed
  • Jesus elevated and included women and promised freedom to captives.

4. Men wrote the Bible.

"God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick." -Unknown

"If God is involved with the Bible, it doesn't matter if men or monkeys wrote it, He can still guarantee the result He wants." -Greg Koukl

5. The Bible has changed.

Luke 1:1–4 (NIV)1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

A. There are to many translations 

A specific translation is not THE Word of God, but it contains it.

Modern translations have only been translated from the early manuscripts.

Translation say
 the same thing in a different way!  

B. The Bible is not accurate.
  • Compared to other historical text the NT holds up to textural criticism more than any other historical document with overwhelming evidence.



“Textural Variants” .5%
  • "I went to the store to get some eggs that I needed."
  • "I needed eggs so I went to the store."

II. The 3 I's of scripture.
1. Inspired: God breathed out His message to men and moved them to record what He wanted.
2. Inherent: The originals were free of errors.
3. Infallibility: incapable of error or wrong.

Authority:
If the scripture is reliable, it is authoritative as God's Word.
The Bible today is just as authoritative as it was in the first century AD.

2 Timothy 3:14–17 (NLT) 14 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. 15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

If God said it, it does matter what I think, feel, or justify. He is the higher authority.

Hebrews 4:12–13 (NLT) 12 For the Word of God is alive and powerful. (living and active) It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

God has spoken, so where is the Lie?

The written Word leads us to Word made Flesh.

John 5:36–40 (NLT) 36 I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, 38 and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you. 39 "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.


John 6:63–64 (NIV) 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe."

Bible reading tips
  • Don't read the Bible saying God, what do you have for me? instead read it saying, "Who are you Lord?" 
  • Never read A verse.
  • It's a marathon, not a sprint- Read it slow.
  • Movement 21
Exegesis and Eisegesis:
Exegesis: "to lead out of." That means that the interpreter is led to his conclusions by following the text.
Eisegesis: "to lead into," which means the interpreter injects his own ideas into the text, making it mean whatever he wants.

Spirit & Truth: The Chaos (The problem of evil)





ACTS 16:16-34 NLT 
16 - One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” 18 This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.

When God acts, Satan reacts.

Matthew 10:1  
Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.

Matthew 10:1 - 18 - Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. 20 “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. 21 “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.”

1. Don't be surprised when the enemy attacks.

Any time there is a move of God, Satan will do whatever he can to kill it.

John 16:33 
 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

ACTS 16:22 - A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

So what did they do?

ACTS 16:25 - Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

2. Keep your eyes on Jesus

Job 1:20  At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

God's objective for your life is not to make you happy, it is to make you Holy

ACTS 16:26 - Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 

God is a chain breaker!


When God's people pray and worship together, miracles can happen.

ACTS 16: 27 - The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!” 29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.”
Paul and Silas knew there was a purpose for the pain.

3. Your purpose is greater than your problem.

“This was a natural event, but with a supernatural purpose, timing, and effect.” Bob-Utley

ACTS 16:32  And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. 33 Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

Paul and Silas introduced the jailer and his family to the one who washed and cleansed their spiritual wounds and now he in return was washing their physical wounds.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 - Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!


Spirit & Truth: The Cosmos (Cosmology & Design)





Faith will be tested. 


“The test won't pass; you have to pass the test."


James 1:2–4 (NIV) 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
1. Testing grows us
2. Testing is a revealer
3. In testing, the Devil tempts us.
James 1:13(NIV) When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.

The devils desire is to….
  • Disengage from your community and connection to Jesus
  • Disappoint your desires.
  • Discourage you and rob you of hope.
  • Distract from your purpose.
  • Disrupt the refining process.
  • Dismantle your identity.
4. Testing proves us
James 1:12–15 (NIV) 12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. 

"A faith that is tested is a faith that can be trusted." 

Passing the test: 
Genesis 22:1(NLT) Some time later, God tested Abraham's faith. "Abraham!" God called. "Abraham!" God called. "Yes," he replied. "Here I am." 2 "Take your son, your only son —yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you." 3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 

1. Hope up
  • God's promise is always the greater reality!

1 Peter 1:3–4 (NLT)
 …It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance…

Genesis 22(NLT) 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 "Stay here with the donkey," Abraham told the servants. "The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back." 6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "We have the fire and the wood," the boy said, "but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?" 8 "God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son," Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

2. Speak Up
John 16:33 (NIV) In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
1 John 5:5 (NIV) Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Romans 8:31 (NIV) What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:35 (NIV) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Romans 8:37 (NIV) We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Genesis 22(NLT) 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Yes," Abraham replied. "Here I am!" 12 "Don't lay a hand on the boy!" the angel said. "Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son." 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means "the Lord will provide").

3. Look up
Hebrews 10:23 (NIV) Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Psalm 121:1–8 (NLT) 1 I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! 3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. 5 The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. 6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. 7 The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. 8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.


BELIEVE: Miracle in the House.





The Chaos/ The Problem of Evil: 

The problem of evil is
 a human problem.

The Claim: Evil exists therefore, God does not exist.
  1. An all-powerful (omnipotent) God can do anything.
  2. An all-good(omnibenevolent) God doesn't stop evil and suffering.
  3. Evil and suffering exist; therefore, God does not exist.

Evil is only possible where there is 
human freedom. 
Romans 5:12 (NLT) When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

Truth: Evil exists
  • Evil is not a thing; it's the absence of a thing.
  • A hole is not a thing. It's the absence of a thing.
Evil is the absence of Good.

Truth: Objective Morality Exist
  • What makes Mother Teresa a better person than Hitler

Conclusion: In order for the absence of Moral goodness to exist, Good must exist. There must be a source of that moral goodness.. 

Truth: God cannot do anything.
Omnipotence doesn't mean that God can do anything. Omnipotence has to do with power, not ability. 
God can do anything that power can do.

God cannot create free moral agents that are not morally free.
God is not obsessed with control; He is not a cosmic dictator.

The problem of evil isn't God's problem.
Yet, he solves it. 
Romans 5:17 (NIV) For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

God provides solutions. 
God is not the problem, he is the solution.

Where do you get your information about God?
Colossians 2:8 (NIV) See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

John 14:5–9 (NIV) 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." 8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." 9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.

Jesus reveals the way of the Father, the truth about the Father and the life in the Father.

Hebrews 1:3 (NIV) The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being…

Colossians 1:15 (NLT) Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.

God doesn't create problems; He provides solutions.

John 3:16–21 (NIV) 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

God provides a purpose in the pain.
  • God makes sure that no pain is wasted. 
Pain serves us, we don't serve pain.
Romans 8:28 (NIV) 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Scars in the Kingdom - Scars take us from pain to power
  • Scars speak louder of the win than the wound
  • Wounds speak of death scars speak of the resurrection

BELIEVE: Passing The Test





Psalms 46:10(NIV) “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations…

Exodus 14:10–16 (NIV)
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. 
They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” 
13 Moses answered the people, 
“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

 Faith that works
James 2:14–19 (NIV) 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Faith that works is the only faith that works.

James 2:20–24 (NIV) 20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous* by what they do and not by faith alone.

*NLT Shown to be right with God

1. Faith connects 

“Faith without works is dead, and works without faith are dead.”

John 15:5 (NIV) “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Your beliefs determine your behaviors.
 
We begin and end in faith.

“You cannot be made righteous by doing anything but by trusting someone.”
  • In Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone.
  • “We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone” -Martin Luther.

Luke 6:43–45 (NIV) 43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

“When we sow the seed of faith, we produce the fruit of faithfulness.”

2. Faith walks 
2 Corinthians 5:7(NIV) We live by faith, not by sight.  

-Faith lives with conviction 
-Faith lives with meaning and intentionality. 
-Faith walks in dominion.  
-Faith walks in Obedience to Jesus
  • Obedience is the active part of Trust!
James 1:22 (NLT) Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

3. Faith Talks 
2 Corinthians 4:13 (NIV)It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak.
-Talking the talk is part of the walk. 

Romans 10:9(NLT) For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

Our declaration determines our direction.

Faith spreads the gospel. 
Romans 10:14 (NLT) How can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?



BELIEVE: The Renewed Mind





Mark 4:35–41 (NIV) 35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.  
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid?
 Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

1. Going to the other side requires Faith.
2. Getting through the storms requires Faith.
  • Faith can sleep through storms
  •  Faith speaks to storms.
3. Jesus identifies where their Faith was at.
4. The storm we can sleep through for our peace is the same storm we need to speak to for the peace of others. 
5. Faith will cause others to recognize the Nature of God. 

Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) Without Faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.


Faith is a fight. 
1 Timothy 6:12 (NLT) Fight the good fight for the true Faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.

1 John 5:4 (NLT) For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our Faith.

Faith is a shield 
Ephesians 6:16 (NIV) Take up the shield of Faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

3 arrows of the enemy
If the devil can talk you out of Faith, he will take over your life.
  1. Fear, 2. Doubt, 3. Unbelief
“I want you to learn, recognize, and identify those tactics so you can rise up in faith and extinguish them.”
1. Fear
A. Some justify fear.
B. Some victimize themselves to fear.
  • Fear is failure to trust. 
C. Some moralize fear. 
Fear is spiritual.
Fear: cripples, controls and manipulates.

God doesn’t give us a Spirit of Fear. 
2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT) For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

2. Doubt
Matthew 14:28–33 (NIV)
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind,
 he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” 

Distazo (διστάζω, 1365), greek: Dublicate-Twice: waver “to stand in two ways”

James 1:6 (NIV) But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

BELIEVE: Faith That Works





Mark 1:14–15 (NIV) 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” 

Repent: Metanoia- to change one’s mind or purpose

Believe: Actively trust.
Acts 20:21 (NIV) 21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

“Believing Jesus requires a changed mind and direction.”

Matthew 3:8 (NIV)8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

Romans 12:1–2 (NIV) 12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrificeholy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Believing in the wrong things will transform you into the wrong thing.

Only the renewed mind can know and understand the will of God.

How do we have a renewed mind?
1. Thinking differently.
- Repentance.
-Filling our mind.
A renewed mind is a well informed, and
 well equipped mind.

John 17:17 (NIV) Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

2. Walking in the Spirit  
Romans 8:5–8 (NIV) 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. 

The result of walking in the Spirit is life and peace.

A. Aware
B. Yielded
“His primary role is not feelings but leadership.”

You cant trust Jesus without removing trust in yourself.

Yielding our thoughts….
2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.


BELIEVE: Help My Unbelief



BELIEVE: Enemies of Believing





An introduction to believing.

John 6:22–31 (NIV) 22 The next daythe crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. 
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 
26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed 
but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” 
28 Then they asked him, 
“What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” 
30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, 
but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 
34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” 
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. 
Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.

1. The crowd was asking for a sign, yet he already provided signs. 

2. The crowd was asking about the works(plural) God required; Jesus gives them the work (singular)God requires. 

Believing is the work God requires.

What does believing mean?

πιστεύω Pisteuō; (verb) to believe, entrust. 

A. To be convinced.

“If you are not convinced, you won’t live with conviction.”
"Biblical Believing is the act of trusting based on the basis of its truthfulness and reliability."

B. To place ones trust in.
Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
1. Faith is 
substantive.
2. Faith is 
evidential.

To believe is to actively trust.

1. Believing is the beginning. 
You have to believe Jesus to receive Jesus.
Believing is how we are reborn
Genesis 15:6 / Rom 14:3(NIV) Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Romans 4:18 (NIV) Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed
Acts 16:31 (NIV)“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.

Ephesians 2:8 (NIV) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

John 3:14–15 (NIV) 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”  

John 3:16–18 (NIV) 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

2. Belief empowers life in the Spirit.
John 7:37–39 (NIV) “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.


Isaiah 40:31 (NIV) Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Our Friend, Bryan Webb





2 Kings 4:1-7 (NIV) 1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” 2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a little oil.” 3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.” 5 She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” 

Miracle in the House…
1. Give up what you got. (Surender)
  • “In your “Nothing” God sees something.”

Your little becomes a lot when you give it to God.

2. Go around and ask.
Corporate miracles increase faith for personal miracles.

Sometimes what you need is in 
your neighbors house.

3. Start pouring. Exercise faith.

Matthew 17:19–20 (NIV)19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 20 He replied, “Because you have so little faithTruly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

“Great faith is just small faith that has been exercised.”



BELIEVE: An Introduction to Believing.





Miracles on Miracles


Jesus came to make the wrong things right.

Miracles
1. Elizabeth became pregnant
Luke 1:24 “Soon afterwards his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months” 

Luke 1:7
“They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.” 

-
John was making the way for Jesus before Jesus was even here on earth.

“And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:17

2. Mary becomes pregnant supernaturally 

1) Jesus would come from a virgin birth 

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.” 

Luke 1:34 “Mary asked the angel,” But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” 

2) Jesus would come from the line of David
Psalm 89:3-2 “You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant;’ I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.” 
(referring to the promise God gave to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13) 

  • God loves to use common people for an uncommon purpose. 

  • God needs nothing but a willing heart to do the miraculous.

  • It’s never too late for God to fill you and there is nothing more you need to do for Him to fill you.

3. John was filled with the Holy Spirit inside the womb
 Luke 1:41 “At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 2:4 “And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.” 

When Jesus came he brought the promise of the Holy Spirit

John 14:15-17 “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”

Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”