A Rural Pastor Speaks

The Biggest Loser - Guilt

The Biggest Loser

 Losing the Guilt

 

 Guilt – An outcome that arises because of sin committed against God.

 Hebrews 10: 1-18

 

Introduction

Guilt comes from a specific act someone has done

Guilt feelings focus on what a person feels about themselves

Out of guilt and guilt feelings comes shame that is wrapped up in fear of others knowledge of what they know about what we have done

Old Testament earthly tabernacle

The veil was lifted only briefly

Sins were merely covered, not removed, so the guilt remained

The repeated sacrifices only reminded the people of how sick they were

Dialysis Machine story

 

Responsibility

People are accountable for what they do and for the consequences of what happens

In the OT stated that people could feel the weight of guilt even though they were unaware that they had done anything wrong (Leviticus 5: 17-19)

Guilt is was portrayed as a burden or weight that could crush a person (Psalm 38: 1-8)

Guilt is like a cancer that could destroy a person from within. (Psalm 32: 1-4)

Guilt is like a debt that must be paid. (Numbers 5: 5-8)

 

Reconciliation

All people are guilty before God

That God requires a blood sacrifice to be reconciled with Him

The OT sacrifice was meant to make restitution, lay aside the burden of guilt and to restore what was damaged, but only temporally.

 

Relationships

Community is important to God and to us

What one person does could cause guilt to come upon an entire group of people.

Guilt can bring separation between entire groups of people

 

Application

Correct understanding of guilt.

Many times we confuse actual guilt with guilty feelings which is seldom found in the Bible

Guilt is the incurred by actual acts of sin

God deals with guilt by sending off sin, not be overlooking it

When we receive forgiveness the source and cause of guilty feelings is removed, because the sin and guilt are gone

God’s Spirit works in our conscience to cleanse and free us

The things of our past stored up in our minds are sent away by God

We find ourselves looking forward instead of backward

 

 

 

The Biggest Loser - Fear

The Biggest Loser

Losing the Fear

Matthew 14: 22-33

What we know

                Many times our minds are not focused on the spiritual

                That we don’t fully understand God’s plan

                That our plans are not consistent with God’s will

                We can know that we will find ourselves in the midst of storms

                during our life

                There are spiritual truths that come from Jesus that will bring us

                comfort and rest

Jesus has brought me here (Matthew 14: 22)

                The storm came because it was the will of God

                Jesus knew that the storm would come

                Jesus deliberately sent them into the storm

                They were being tested and refined               

Jesus is praying for me (Matthew 14: 23-24)

                We believe that Christ is making intersession for us

    He feels our burdens, He knows our needs and what we are going through.

 Jesus will come to me (Matthew 14: 25-27)

                He may not come at the time we think He should come

                He will come when He sees we need Him the most

                He may wait until all hope is gone, when everything else is gone 

Jesus will help me grow (Matthew 14: 28-31)

                Anyone can sit in a boat

                Peter dared to different, He stepped out

                When he stepped out into the storm Jesus was there to catch him

Jesus will see us through (Matthew 14: 32-33)

                When Jesus calls us to come it is to an intended purpose

                Storms turn into blessings

                We can be assured that He will be with us

Application

                The storm was a storm of perfection not correction

                When we are in God’s will wherever we are we are safe

                Jesus is praying that our faith will not fail

                Jesus is in total control of every situation

                Jesus always comes to us in the times of storm

                Faith opens our eyes that have been shut by fear

                We are to step out no matter the circumstances              

                We need to be willing step out when Jesus calls us to come

                God will succeed

                Jesus and Peter walked on the water together

The Biggest Loser - Doubt

The Biggest Loser

We don’t feel

Connected

Forgiven

That my prayers are going anywhere

 

We Forget

That what I feel is not as important as what I know or what is true

                If God is for us who can be against us

                Knowing that God did not spare His own son but gave Him up for us

                I know that those in Christ cannot be condemned

                Christ is always interceding for us

                We are more than conquerors 

We become convince

            That Jesus death and resurrection has condemned sin.

The law has been fulfilled   

That nothing can separate us from the love of God

Death, Life, present, future, powers, height, depth

Application

 Be honest with our doubts

                Mark 9: 17-24

Stop faking and start facing our doubts

God is not threatened by our doubts

When we lose the doubt we find stability

                James 1:5-6

We find that we are not easily swayed one way or another

Others cannot manipulate us

When we lose the doubt we can do the miraculous

                Matthew 14:22-33

We find ourselves looking beyond the fear

We find ourselves walking on water to get where God wants us to go

We find ourselves having a major impact on the lives of people

When we lose the doubt we find ourselves pleasing God

                Hebrews 11:6

Our greatest desire is to make God smile

 

1 Peter - Authority

1 Peter 5:

Authority

 

For those in Authority   (1 Peter 5:1-4)

 

For those authority in the church

 

   Preach the sincere word of God

   Understand their authority comes from God

   The direction and the discipline they give comes the word of

   God prescribes

  Must be willing to take on the authority given them

  They are to be examples to those under their authority

                Practice holiness, discipline, allow the Holy Spirit to work

Have an attitude of having a great opportunity to mold people

                Love, meekness and tenderness

 We have the outcome that will have great reward

 

For those under authority (1Peter 5: 5a)

 

Submit

                Responsiveness and willingness to yield to one another out of love

                We look to Christ who submitted himself to the will of his Father

                (Christ baptism, the choice He made in the garden)

We trust those who have been placed in authority over us

When we submit we have an opportunity to experience something greater than what our experience would have us believe.

   

For everyone (1 Peter 5: 5b-11)

We should look out for the interests of others

Be willing to subdue our own self centered interests

Part of humility is bearing each other burdens

We know that God will be working against us if we are not humble

When we humble ourselves God will show favor to us

If we believe that God is who he says He is, it is better for us that God lifts us up

We leave the timing up to Him

We can be assured that He cares for us

The devil seeks to destroy us

 

Application

 

To be in authority is gives us great responsibility and great reward

When we place ourselves under authority requires great trust in God

Submission to God and others is key to be in God’s will

Standing firm in our faith is the only way we can resist the devil

We better be ready for the battle

We gain strength from shared experiences

God will eventually restore us and make us strong, firm and steadfast

 

1 Peter - Suffering

1 Peter 4: 1-19

Suffering

Introduction

 Conditions that will help us endure suffering

                Like minded

                Love one another

                Compassionate and humble

                Do not repay evil with evil

                Keep our tongue from evil

                Seek peace

                Remember God is watching

                Do not fear

                Revere Christ

                Be prepared

                Be gentle and respectable with others

 

Having the same attitude

                 We are done with sin

                The focus in our lives is the will of God instead of our evil human desires.

Understand we will have to give an account to Christ at the judgment

We are called to live according to God

We are entrusted to be faithful stewards of God’s grace

Use our gifts that have been given by God’s grace to serve others

                We are to speak as if we are speaking the very words of God

                We understand that when we serve we do so with God’s strength

                Everything that we do gives praise to God

 

Do not be surprised

              When we find ourselves in tough situations

              Those situations are to test us

              Those situations should not be unexpected

              We are given the opportunity to participate in the suffering of Christ

              Even though we are insulted we become blessed

              The glory of God comes upon us

              God’s judgment will start with us

              In spite of our suffering we are called to be faithful to God

              and continue to do good.

 

Application

             Change our thinking that suffering is a bad outcome for us,

             we come to think of suffering as time where we become spiritually enriched

 

             We make a decision to love life, because we know that God is in control

 

             We learn to control our tongue because words spoken in the wrong way

             and in the wrong spirit cause a multitude of problems

 

            We must continue to do good because we hate evil

 

            We need to work hard to promote peace

 

 

 

 

Game Changer

This is a video that we produced for the Nines Conference in September 2010.

1 Peter - Goodness

1 Peter 2: 11-25

Goodness

Working definition

 

Goodness is viewed to be whatever produces the best consequences upon the lives of people, especially with regard to their states of well being.

 

The Warning   (1 Peter 2: 11-12)

 

Because of Peter’s great love for the believers

Because of our detachment from this world

We are urged to make a choice

Away from the things that will destroy our life

Sinful desires go to the heart of our life

                It weakens our spirit

                It robs us of comfort and peace

                It brings misery and despair

Good deeds will become the hallmark of our lives

As we resist these sinful desires and keep on doing good people will notice

Our example will speak a great testimony that will convict people and lead them to God

And God will receive the glory and people will be assured of God’s returning for us and the coming judgment (conviction, repentance, belief)

Submit  (1 Peter 2: 13-20)

 

We are not to obey the law so we can avoid punishment

We are to obey so we can honor God

We are to obey all laws that do not conflict with clear teaching of scripture

By our actions if we are in line with God we over rule the talk of people

Our best defense against slander and criticism is good behavior

Even when no one is looking we are to live as God slaves and in response to God’s will

We enjoy true freedom when we obey God

                We are called to respect everyone (created in God’s image)

                We are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ

                We are to fear God (in awe and reverence)

                We honor the king (God has placed in authority)

It is commendable to endure unjust suffering because of our relationship with God

 

Our Example (1 Peter 2: 21-25)

 

Christ is our example of patient submission to unjust suffering

He suffered in silence. He committed Himself to God’s care

Something bigger was going on

Jesus was taking on our sins and God was judging them

Jesus death makes us free from the penalty and power of sin

Jesus suffering and sacrifice makes it possible for us to live righteously before God

Jesus example gives us guidance and protection as we return to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls

 

Application

 

Are we willing to commit ourselves to God’s care?

Are we to admit the damage that our sinful desires do to our lives?

Are we able to develop a mindset that if we live good lives we may suffer anyway?

That a life lived for the Lord’s sake will result in glory for God

1 Peter - Holiness

1 Peter 1

Holiness

 

Working definition - set apart from the ordinary, the essence of God, outcome of righteousness and reverence before God

 

Foundations   (1 Peter 1: 3-12)

 Everything that we have is by God’s great mercy

We have been giving this eternal inheritance that comes through this new birth

Our response is that of rejoicing, even in the midst of trials and suffering

In spite of these trials and suffering if we endure our faith will be found genuine

Out of our lives come praise, glory and honor.

This gospel message has been for told in ages past (Old Testament)

Set Our Hope  (1 peter 1: 13-16)

We are called to be ready for what is to come

It is God’s grace that we are called to set our hope upon

That grace calls us out of the life that we once had

For those who have this hope, we will become holy by our association with God

 

Live Out our Time  (1 Peter 1: 17-21)

We live our lives out our time here from a heavenly perspective

The supernatural nature of our salvation and the blood of Christ

The resurrection provides us a pathway to God so that we can fully experience faith and hope in God

 

Purify Ourselves   (1 Peter 1: 22-25, 2: 1-3)

We allow the gospel to separate us from the ordinary and the profane

Out of the transformation that it causes us to love others at a much higher and deeper level

Because of the calling we realize that time is short and some things will have to go

 We are challenged to mature in our salvation

 

Come to Him   (1 peter 2: 4-10)

As we come to Him (Jesus) we find ourselves being rebuilt

As we come to Him (Jesus) we find ourselves in a new position

As we come to Him (Jesus) we find ourselves doing new things

As we come to Him (Jesus) we find ourselves standing in a wonderful light

As we come to Him (Jesus) we find ourselves living as people of God

As we come to Him (Jesus) we find ourselves receiving mercy

                 

 

Responding to God - Serving 08-08-10

Serving Foundations

In response to what God has done

Our life and our activities is how we totally express back to God  

It may involve a complete change in our lifestyle

That involves in not conforming to the pattern this world

                What does not conforming to this pattern look like?

Which requires that we transformed by the renewing of our minds

                What does that transformation look like in our lives?

We come to a place where we approve and desire God’s will in our lives

We discover that God’s will is actually good for us, it pleases God, it is complete

in every way and it is all we need

We find the joy the will of God

 

Expressions of Serving

First of all our serving is to those in the body of Christ

                We become aware of the great need the body of Christ has of us

                We become aware of the great needs that exist in the body of Christ

 

Our serving is to be done with a humble heart

                Examine ourselves and determine how God has equipped us

                We cannot rely solely on our natural talents and abilities

 

Our service brings unity and completion to the body of Christ

 

Responding to God - Giving 08-01-10

Giving

2 Corinthians 8 and 9

Paul simply taught and encouraged his readers to give as a free and personal response to Christ.

He reminded them that every response we have to God, must not be made reluctantly or under pressure

The Old Testament

The Law in Leviticus 27: 30-33 - Establishes the concept of tithing

Numbers 18: 21-32 – Establishes the use of the tithe to help support those dedicated to serve God

Deuteronomy 26: 12-15 another tithe was collected every third year to be distributed locally to the needy, widows and orphans

There were voluntary contributions called freewill offerings and were given out of love of God

 

The New Testament

The New Testament focus is a deep concern for the poor and the needy, especially other believers

Giving was an expression of a person’s relationship with God

 We are called not to trust in possessions or even consider material things treasures

Worldly riches do affect our values and choices

If have a wrong prospective on money and giving we will fall short in our obligation to others and God

 

Grace Giving      (2 Corinthians 8: 1-9)

 

As Christians we have this shared life in Christ

Out of Christ’s example we who are rich are called to become poor so others might become rich

We have all been saved by God’s grace which gives us a common spiritual heritage

 The giving that we do is considered a privilege and an example for others

The joy that we have in Christ allows the spirit of generosity to flow up out of our lives

 

Actions

Willingness to see our desires of our hearts turned into action

(2 Corinthians 8: 10-12)

Desire for equality. There are times when we have to give and others have need and other times we are in need and others have the resources to give us (2 Corinthians 8: 13-15)

Have is our hearts that Giving is sowing. It is the belief that God has the ability to out give His people (2 Corinthians 9: 10-11)

We have an Attitude to live without fear that if we deprive ourselves by giving to others that we will not have enough

We are willing to Present our needs and the needs of others to others

Reject being manipulated into giving

We would Teach freeing truths. We are to remind others of God’s greatest gift in Christ

(2 Corinthians 9: 12-15)