July 19, 2020
Intimacy With God
RELATIONSHIP: INTIMACY
Gospel call is relational
Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3 NIV
THE BLESSING IN RELATIONSHIP
Hearing
John 10:27 NIV
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Closeness
John 17:22-23 NLT “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. 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.
Walking out life
1 John 2:6 NLT Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
Walking with God means that you are actively being transformed into Godʼs image.
1 John 1:6-7 NLT 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. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
RIGHTEOUSNESS: THE COST OF INTIMACY
Two types of righteousness:
1. Who you are in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2. What you are called to walk in with your free will. (How much do you want?)
What damages your relationship with God?
Walking in darkness:
Ezekiel 16:15-16 NLT “But you thought your fame and beauty were your own. So you gave yourself as a prostitute to every man who came along. Your beauty was theirs for the asking. You used the lovely things I gave you to make shrines for idols, where you played the prostitute. Unbelievable! How could such a thing ever happen?
Jesus paid for it, we must choose to walk in it.
1 Peter 2:24 NLT He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
Sin separates, but righteousness connects.
Matthew 5:8 NIV Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
The call of Godʼs righteousness can only be accomplished through intimacy, in which God gives His grace.
HOW TO WALK IN RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Surrender: God wants nothing less then your FULL LIFE!
Jesus needs to be number one in your life.
Pursuit:As a Christian,you are called to walk the way Jesus walked. We are able to walk like Him by spending time with Him daily.
Obedience: Whatever this Book calls you to, go and God will give you the grace to do it. Ask for grace, and radically obey. We love Jesus back by our obedience to Him.
July 19, 2020
Genesis 1:27–28 (NIV) 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.
Matthew 19:4–6 (NIV) 4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
*Genesis 2:18-25
Marriage= One Man, One Woman, For One lifetime.
Marriage Has a Mandate.
Fulfillment comes from fulfilling God’s purposes together.
EVEN in Marriage, the goal is to seek first the kingdom. (Mt 6:33)
Our culture has set marriages up for failure:
You have to be committed when it's bad to experience when it’s good.
Destructive marriage mindsets:
1. Comparison
2. Competition
3. Manipulation
4. Separation(Independence)
“It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a community to have a healthy marriage”
5. Deception
When you got married you gave up your right to privacy
6. Tension (Unresolved conflict)
Marriage isn’t about perfection but redemption.
Remember:
1 Corinthians 13:4–7 (NLT) 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
1. Tenderness> Strength
“Vulnerable couples are more healthy than strong individuals.”
2. Devotion> Emotion
Strong marriages are not built on emotion, they are built on devotion.
Devotion to Jesus: The most important relationship in marriage is with the Lord.
3. Partnership> Individual rolls
The best gift you can give your kids is showing them what it looks like to have a healthy relationship with your spouse.
4. Future> The Past
June 28, 2020
Hebrews 10:23 (NLT) Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
Exodus 2:24–25 (NLT)24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.
Mosaic Covenant: Sinai Covenant, Covenant with Israel….
Exodus 19:3–6 (NLT) 3…Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. 6 And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”
The Shadow of the law
Hebrews 10:1 (NIV) The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming
The law had a problem.
The laws were good, people are bad.
Hebrews 8:6–10 (NLT) 6 But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. 7 If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. 8 But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 9 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord. 10 But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
The law served a time & purpose.
Galatians 3:23–25 (NIV) 23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
Until the covenant was fulfilled.…
Jesus Fully-Filled it! (Matt 5:17)
Hebrews 8:13 (NLT) When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date…
The law had a sign.
The sabbath
“To rest or stop or cease from work.”
Exodus 31:12–13 (NLT) 12 The Lord then gave these instructions to Moses: 13 “Tell the people of Israel: ‘Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation. It is given so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.
Hebrews 10:11–14 (NLT) 11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 13 There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. 14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.
"We can't do anything to add to the work of Jesus we simply enjoy it benefits"
“The new covenant is not rooted in good works but in Good News.”
The law involves People.
“MY Kingdom of priests MY Holy Nation”
"The mosaic covenant was a covenant with Israel. The new covenant is for those in Christ."
“You have be in Him to get in on it.”
1 Peter 2:9 (NLT) You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
Close:
Romans 10:4 (NLT) For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.
June 07, 2020
Hebrews 10:23 (NLT)
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm,
for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
Tower of Babel: (Genesis 11)
Disobedience
Pride
Independence
Abraham:
Genesis 12:1–2 (NLT) The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.
The Abrahamic Covenant:
1. Dominion
Abraham would have to leave comfort.
2. Descendants
3. Blessing
Blessing gets on you as it goes through you.
Abraham is a prototype of promise.
Galatians 3:29 (NLT)You belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God's promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Elements of a Blood Covenant:
1. Parties involved.
2. The terms of agreement
Faith & Friendship.
James 2:23 (NLT) "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." He was even called the friend of God.
3. Ceremony
Genesis 15:9–11(NLT) 9 The Lord told him, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10 So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half. 11 Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.
Genesis 15:9–17-18 (NLT)
17 After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. 18 So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, "I have given this land to your descendants…
Jesus the Lamb
Hebrews 13:20 (NLT) Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood.
4. A Symbol/Seal
In the New Covenant: communion as a point of remembrance.
There is a second reminder.
Hebrews 10:15–16 (NLT) 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says, 16 "This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds." (Ezekiel 36: 27)
➡The Holy Spirit is the fire that is passed through the covenant!
"He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." John the Baptist (Matthew 3:11)
Acts 1:4–5 (NLT) He commanded them, "Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
Pentecost:
Pentecost empowers us with a person so that we can fulfill our part of the partnership!
We Start seeing what Yahweh promised Abraham
1. Dominion
2. Descendants
Acts 1:8 (NLT) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
3. Blessing
Acts 2:1–6 (NIV) 2 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. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.
-At Babel they were working, at Pentecost they were waiting.
-At Babel language was confused, At Pentecost language was understood.
-At Babel the people were scattered in judgment, at Pentecost the people were sent to spread the good news.
-At Babel it was for the fame of man, At Pentecost it was for the the glory of God.
Unity: They were together
"Unity is the catalyst and the product of revival."
Upper room: Pursuing the same thing.
"Our greatest weapon is coming together, going after the same thing. The presence of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit."
We need a modern Pentecost!
Acts 19:2 (NIV) "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"