Friday, November 11, 2011
Jesus' Cricufixion and Death
Ballard Campus 10-30-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll
Tags:
Luke 23:26-49
Jesus' Cricufixion and Death
This U-District building was held by a Baptist congregation who, when MH was in core group phase, PMD saw a sermon there railing against nuclear weapons instead of talking about Jesus
Who was there for Jesus' Death
Women followed weeping as Jesus walked to his place of Death
+The only thing worse than what Jesus suffered is what those who die without knowing Jesus will suffer
+He tells us that weeping for Him is not as important as weeping over my sin and the judgment just waiting to be poured out on those who don't know Jesus.
Jesus focuses the women's attention on the coming eternal suffering
The Men:
+Simon who carried the cross
+The two criminals
+The Roman soldiers
+The rulers
+The Centrion
+The Crowd
+His Acquaintances
Some are passive in their opposition to Jesus
The Sinner, the Soldiers, and the Scoffers
The Active opposers of Jesus
+The sinner - accused
+The Soldiers -
++They stripped Jesus naked
++They shoved a filty tolilet sponge into the mouth of God to shut him up
+The Scoffers:
++They railed against Jesus while is struggling to breathe
Jesus Reaction
A Prayer for forgiveness...That he answers
Jesus is the most exclusive truth in the World, you must go to him to be saved
Jesus is the most inclusive truth is the World, all can come to him even if they are evil all the time
Simon of Cyrene
He was assigned at random to carry Jesus' cross - God used this moment to connect simon to Jesus and start a multi generational line of faith
He had two sons Rufus and ???
One of them was named as a leader in the Early Church in Rome
Simon Met jesus and raised two kids to love Jesus
Legacy
God is calling
The Centurion
This is an elite leader of soldiers
He is a man's man who doesn't just hurt people he kills them
He is so compelled by jesus' conduct on the Cross that he comes to faith
The Sinner
He honestly asess himself as a sinner who is humble before his God
When we sin we are not breaking God's law we are breaking God's heart
He looks at Jesus and is given forgiveness
What Happend to Jesus: What is Cruscifixion?
It started with the Persians and impailing for days and it perfected over time until the Roman Crusicifixion
The Stype is the permanent bar in the ground
The Pytibulum is the cross bar that was brought to the site by the condemned
Josehius called crucifixion the most wretched of deaths
Cicero said decent Roman citizen ought not to speak of crusicixion
God saw cursed is AYONE who is hung on a tree
When Spatircus fell in battle 6,000 people were crusified in one day
These would be held in public, like shopping centers
The worst people would show up for crucifixion
+They would bet how long it would take to die would
In early AD, there was a Jewish uprising and the little boy Jesus may have seen the mass crusifixion and realized "That's where I will end up"
THIS IS WHAT WE DID TO GOD
Crucifixion inspired the word Excruciating which literally means from the cross
The Scouging of Jesus
The falling of Jesus under the Cross Bar
Jesus' nailing
Jesus's cross bar was dropped into the hole and the nails torn the most sensitive nerve centers of the human body
Jesus spiritual separation from his Father as he became SIN
Jesus said in a loud voice "IT IS FINISHED", he died with full lungs
He didn't die from asphixiation he died from a literally broken hear resulting from his fall under the cross
It's finished means that anyone who rejects Him has no excuse
Why did the worst thing possible happen to the best Man
"Aleximanus Worships his God" - Ancient Graffiti from a non-Christian
Roman 4 Jesus was delivered up for my tresspasses
Romans 5 While I was rebelling Jesus died for me
+God gave me God, the greatest gift possible
Since I ddn't deserve the Love of God I can never lose it or be disqualified from it
What is the most important Thing to know and to Learn?
Paul "That Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures"
Jesus Rose from Death
Jesus' Civil Life
Ballard Campus 10-23-11 Pastor Bill Clem
Tags:
Luke 23:1-25
Jesus' Civil Life
There is the Roman Civil layer of authority says Jesus is guilty and deserves death
The ????? layer of authority says Jesus is guilty and deserves death
The Sanhedron layer of authority says Jesus is guilty and deserves death
The charges Against Jesus
You are misleading our people
+They are very angry over Jesus saying that he was God
+They were angry over the threat they saw toward the Temple's physical building and the Temple's economic evils
What do I use as my metric for how my relationship with God is going?
You are telling people to not pay their taxes
+A blatant lie
You say that you are a king
+Jesus says yes, but my kingdom is not of this world
Pilate sends Jesus to Herod
Herod is just interested in seeing a magic show
Jesus doesn't honor that desire so he remains silence
+This is the man who killed his cousin John the Baptizer
Here Herod is being used to fulfill a prophesy
+ In Psalm 22 (800 years before the invention of Crucifixion) we get a description of Jesus' death
++this robe is what the soldiers gamble for when they caste lots
Pilate and Herod Find Jesus Not Guilty
Even though all the authorities
Pilate has no convictions that drive him, he is a manager who just wants peace. He meets God and chooses his idol of Peace instead of God
+He doesn't care about justice, he justs wants peace, he is a passive coward
If I really love someone of they really love me, then I should not be okay with someone believeing a lie and committing their whole life to it.
When Pilate sees the crowd's choice of a terrorist over Jesus he sees that this situation is out of his control.
Verses Declaring us guilty
Isaiah - everyone has go astray
Romans - No one is good, not one
Acts2 - Lawless men killed Jesus, I am one of those lawless men
We are all guilty and it really is that Bad, Jesus was innocent and he got what he shouldn't have
+How can any of us says wea re really not that Bad and we don't deserve the evil that hits us
What does it looks Like to Be in Jesus?
1 Repentance
2 Believing Jesus' many claims to be God
3 Forgiven - This is something we can know
+Dude stuck in a habitual sin, has such a large view of his sin that he identifies himself by it.
++Sin is what we do, NOT who we are, we know forgiveness
4 Accepted - This means that God the Father looks at us as covered by Jesus
5 Loving - We are imprinted by teh Love of God and we get to respond in Love to those around us
6 Empowered by the Holy Spirit
+
Jesus, the Son of God
Ballard Campus 10-16-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll
Tags: Prophesy, trinity
Luke 22:63-71
Jesus, the Son of God
Wouldn't it be fair to hear from the controversial man Jesus Christ instead of what other people say aout him?
His critics are united in opposition to Jesus
Theses trials are a legal means to cover murder
When we lie, it is to gain benefit, If Jesus is not God, then why lie when the result of that lie is to die horribly
Consider being blindfolded and surrounded by young men who want to show their masculinity by beating you as hard as they can.
Jesus has been there with those who have been assaulted. Jesus knows what being weak and bloodied by cruel men.
Jesus is the Christ
Here we have a night time illegal series of religious and legal trials being beaten by zealous men.
+The Goal is not justice, this is a government sanctioned murder
Their question, the issue is to answer the question are you the only God?
When we lie our motive is to make my life better and prtect ourselves, Jesus has no reason to lie
+He knows murder is the result of saying that he was God.
The beatings started at night, the questions didn't start until the morning
"If you are the Christ, tell us" The returning Messiah from Isaiah
+God's people have been waiting for hundreds of years for the one "from anctient times"
Jesus declares himself to be God in Three ways:
Jesus is the Christ
Q: "Are you the Christ" - The title means are the anointed one who is the deliverer talked about in the books of prophesy.
A: That's what I've been saying, if I tell you again you will not believe it
+Jesus clearly said I am God
+That's why they killed him
Jesus is the Son of Man
A: Jesus said, I am the Son of Man and I will sit at the right hand of God
In Daniel, this Son of Man comes from heaven in the form of a man
+This son of man is presented before God the Father
+All peoples from all times will serve this Son of Man
It is not possible way to make a clearer public declaration of deity
These guys lean forward and all of them ask are you the Son of God?
He says that is what I have been saying
What are the implications of Jesus saying and being the Son of God?
The Mormons will say yes Jesus is the Son of God
+They mean that men can become gods who knock up women and have kids who are then "sons of gods"
+The Bible say that the Father is Spirit not a physical being
The Muslims think that Jesus did not die on the cross
+If Jesus was a good man who spoke for God and who said he was God but wasn't, then you can't say he was a Good man; he must be a God of a liar who lied so he could die (only an insane man would say that). So to be a logically consistent Muslim you MUST say that Jesus is a madman.
Hermaneutics
Plain Literal - "I'm hungry" means burrito
Figurative literal - "I could eat a horse" is a figure fo speech meaning I want a burrito
Example: the Trinity is kinda like a Father and a Son
Trinity
Gabriel speaking to Mary - An angel said Jesus is the Son of God
Jesus' baptisms - The Father said Jesus was teh Son of God
Satan tempting Jesus - Satan said Jesus was the Son of God
Jesis at his trial said he was the Son of God from his own bloodied mouth
This statement of being the Son of God means that Jesus is of the same stuff as God the Father.
+He was claiming to be the God who created heaven and Earth
WHY WOULD JESUS LIE AND SAY HE WAS GOD UNLESS HE REALLY WAS.
We are just as arrogant and proud and self-righteous as these men who murder innocent God, if we sit in judgement over him.
Singleness: Sanctification Without Sex
Ballard Campus 10-09-11 Pastor Phil & Jen Schmidt
Tags:
An Event at Mars Hill Ballard after the 7:15PM Sunday Service for all the single people. Emphasis: look to Christ and trust in his plan for you.
Singleness: Sanctification Without Sex
God agres witn me or I agree with God
+Repentance looks like me releasing my own view of singleness in favor of God
You are not a couple unless you are married
Considerations for Singleness
(1) - Gift - a great gift from God
How do I view my singleness? I enjoy it and often look to my selfish desires of being self-centered.
Jesus engages the Samaratian in conversation trying to break her view of singleness as a broken gift, he
James says every good and perfect gift come from God, Singleness is that good gift
(2) - Stewardship
How am I stewarding my singleness? I fail daily to live a life that all about Jesus. I get wrapped up in selfishness.
PMD says that Chirstians veer towards either dependence or independence
Growing in Godly Character
+Responsibility - How do I lead myself?
+Submissive - How do I recieve correction; am I in community
+trustworthiness - Am I a man of my word?
+Perseverance - What happens when life gets difficult
+Plans - How do I steward my day (time), money, and reputation?
+Committment - Do I follow through?
+Service - How am I loving ad serving other people?
+Purity - Does my life show a lve for Jesus or a love for Sex?
+Honor - How Do I treat God's Daghters?
+Humility - Can I admit when I am wrong?
Mrs Schmidt - For the Ladies...
(1) Who is She?
+Does She identify herself with her Job, her sexuality, her independence...
+What is revealed about how she handles her money and her time?
(2) What Does She Love?
(3)What Controls Her?
+Emotion, Circumstances, independence, chronic desire for a husband...
Ladies like labels (sources of identity)
A.W. Tozer "What you think about God is the most important thing about you"
1 Cor 1 - Identity is the most important thing about you
Mrs. Schmidt talks to the ladies in a way that really emphasizes the Love of the Father and the Love of Jesus...When Speaking to women, they respond and are compelled by this message...weird I respond to rebuke and seeing jesus not a love giver but as Lecrae says, "Thug Jesus" from Rev.
Developing Godly Character
+Is she Submissive to Jesus?
+Is she obsessed in getting to the next life stage, the next mission that God
+Prayer - How does she pray, what does this reveal about her view of God?
+Repent - Is this a lifestyle for her? Is is frequent and specific?
+Honest - Does she bear her heart and soul to trusted others?
Purity: The Pursuit of Sexual Purity is not a life-threatening condition?
+this is a worship issue NOT an abstinence issue
God's will is that I guard my heart, my sexuality, my treatment of my brothers and sisters.
Sex was made a a gift to enjoy in marriage
I am to treat women as my sisters and mothers
Men and women are image bearers NOT objects
Porn and fantasy - escape from facing reality objectifies men and women.
Jesus promises to cleanse us from sexual sin and deliver us from our idols.
Expectation
Anticipation of a spouse is not a sin - Have an open hand with her
Demanding a spouse is a sin
+Dating a non-Christian - Result of demanding
+Cohabitation - Result of demanding
++There is a higher rate of divorce among cohabitators than non
+Cultural dating - This will prepare me for divorce
+Sexual Sin
+Setting the bar too low / too high for a spouse
+Fear of Committment
+Destract myself with my job and my service
Submission for both men and women is the heart of Jesus - "you Will be done"
+Spurgeon said - The Father knows what to give and what to withhold
Questions and Answers
How can I practice self sacrifice while single?
+Look at my week, where does my time go?
+How is my sexuality being stewarded?
+How is my money being stewarded?
Is there a happy medium between "Cultural dating" and dating one person to get married?
+I want my kids to date and marry one person - Pastor Phil
+Knowing people in community is what you need to do, then there will be people to vouch for her character.
What are some legit reasons to postpone dating? When will you know it is time?
+Am I mature in jesus? - Not really. There is so much I freaking stuff I don't know.
+Is my idea of a good time playing video games?
+Ask mature people around me if I am ready to date
Will my past sexual sin affect my future marriage?
+Yes, there will be consequences
+PMD says 20 years to get to imtimacy if she was abused or was sexually active prior to marriage.
+Perfect live castes out fear.
+Sactification is learnign to trust the truth that I am fully forgiven and justified by Jesus' work.
Cohabitation without Sex?
+God calls men and women to become one in all of life
++Emotionally, Spiritually, Physically
++There is no committment at all in cohabitation
+Intimacy is built in many ways beyond sexuality
Perseverance in Christ
Shoreline Church 10-01-11 Pastor Tom Schreiner
Tags:
Luke 22:35-38
A lecture discussing the difficult statements in the New Testament...
Session One
From Louisville KY - born in Salem OR
What do we say to New Christians
What about people who made a profession of faith but didn't live in light of that, they fall away
Paul Sends Barnabas - People get saved, they are encouraged to remain faithful to Jesus, to perservere
Acts 13 - new converts are urged to continue in the grace of God, to persevere
Acts 14 - Four cities are revisited, Apostles encouraged the new converts to continue in the way of faith
1Thess3 - Warns no Chrstians that it will be hard and they will need to fight through thos times - Tim was checking to see if they were really Christians by they perseverance
Persevere until the end
What do we say to Current Christians
Stand firm in the grace of God - 1 Peter
Jude - Keep yourselves in the Love of God
Heb12, 2Cor6 - Don't recieve the grace of God in vain
Phil 2 - Hord fast to the word of life
Warning Passages (Arminian, Test of Genuiness, Free Grace, and Means Views)
Armin - True believes who reject truth and go to Hell
FreeGrace - Warnings are not about salvation only about the Bemis Seat Judgments for rewards in Heaven, danger is in telling someone going to Hell that they are going to Heaven
Tests of Genuiness - They are written to people who are around christians but are not yet saved, so if they fall away that person never way saved
Means by which God keeps his kids - They save us assurance in our salvation, Tom Schreiner's position
Warning Passages - DANGER - Threats from God
Matt10 - Rejected before men will be denied before the Father - Going to hell
Matt10 - The one who endures to the end will be saved (implication the one who doesn't will got to Hell)
John 15 - Vine Parable, not abiding in Jesus will wither and be cast into the fire - Going to Hell
Gal5 - Jesus plus anything (circumsicion here) ruins everything - Going to Hell, Paul explaied his theology and then tell them to not add circumsicion to jesus, No benefit for salvation to a man who wants to live under the whole OT Law - Go be perfect, because your don't have Jesus' grace
+Justification by the works of the law causes separation from grace - Going to hell
Rom11 - Gentiles told fear God because even the Jews are cut off, Continue in Jesus' kindness or you will be cut off - Going to Hell
1Cor6 - Unbelievers sought to resolve controversies in the church
+The wrongdoers - will not inherit the Kingdom of God - Going to Hell
+Sexual sin, theivesm swindlers, etc all are going to hell
+After conversion, we do not give ourselves to that anymore, but we still sin
Rom8 - Life in the flesh leads to spiritual death -
Gal5 - Works of the flesh (list) Warn you that those who do such things do not see Jesus' smiling - Going to Hel
1Cor6 - Corruption (sow to the flesh) or eternal life (sow to the spirit)
2 John - Those who don't confess Jesus are the anti-Christ - watch yourselves that you will not lose the reward, those who abide in the teaching of Christ doesn't have God - Going to Hell
Rev8 - Those of conquer they you eat of eternal life's fruit from the tree, recieving the mark of the enemy
Rev2 - The conquerer will not suffer the lake of fire, 2nd death - Going to hell if you don't
Hebrews Warning Passages - written to Christians who could lose their salvation, a long sermon will one point (don't fall away); structure is theology then exotation (warning) then repeat
Her2 - Christians all must pay close attention to avoid drifting away from Jesus, How shall we escape from something
Her3-4 - Take care brother (christians) lest their be in any of an evil heart, unbelieveing, exort one another all the time so that you will not be hardened against Jesus; let us all fear so we are compelled to strive to attain the eternal rest
+Fear can be a great thing to compell us to action
Heb10 - if we sin deliberately (apostasy), there is no forgiveness of sins; fear of judgement in fire but the worst punishment for those who trample Jesus under their feet, consider the blood of Jesus to be are common and worthless as menstrual blood - Going to hell
Heb12 - See that you don't refuse Jesus, he will consume you - Going to hell
Heb6 - those who are Christians who have experienced salvation, who turn away are trying to crucifying Jesus again - Going to Hell
+Taste - same word as used for jesus who tasted Death
Bottom Line
IF YOU DENY JESUS HE WILL DENY YOU AND YOU GO TO HELL
+don't run into traffic
The Warning passages about Hell are written to us Christians
Perseverance is not perfection
Thesis: Christians are not perfect, here are 5 points
Jesus taught us to pray for forgiveness - Lord's Prayer, pray regularly because we sin everyday
We will be perfect on the day of resurrection
Phil3 - Paul says I'm not perfect yet because I have not yet been raised
Rom8 - We are falling apart physically because of sin's work - we are profoundly infected by sin in subtle ways that is down to our core
Exortations in the Epistles show that we are not perfect yet
1Pet2 - we still have desires to sin
Gal5 - we need exotations and encouragement to resist sin and evil desires
Even the Best Christians can do Better
James2 - we all stumble in many ways, even men like James
1Thess 4 - you love people really well, but you could really do better
2pet3 - Grow in the grace and knowleddge of Jesus
Perfection will be ours n the Last day
Eph5 - the Church willbe presented in perfection in the last day
Col1 - You wil be presented as blameless
1John3 - we will see him as perfect on the last day face to face
Biograpical Examples
1 - Zach and Lizzy, Jesus' relatives who are godly folks who love God who struggles with sin
+Evidence is the messenger,
2 - Peter sins even after he is converted and aven after Jesus restores him
Questions and Answers
Aren't we Elected to be Saved - so can we really drive off the cliff into the grand canyon?
+No true Christian can be lost but the warning passages are not
Roman Caltholics teach that works lead to salvation is this right?
+No, our perseverance is an evidence of our salvation, but not the basis of our salvation
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Man Security Team Training
Pastor Bubba Ballard Church 9/18/2011
This Training was at Mars Hill Church Ballard for members of the security team. I am still in Mars' backup security group so I get to attend. Thanks Steve for letting me know. Thanks Bubba for teaching
At this life stage I need to focus on building deep deep convictions that will stand all of life's violence
Bubba honored Bill and Julia Simmonds' amazing 40th wedding anniversary and dedication
Men are to speak in a way that brings life - the Very words of God
Image bearers - Genesis 2 - value comes from God - IDENTITY
This applies to CCRP
Job Description
This Training was at Mars Hill Church Ballard for members of the security team. I am still in Mars' backup security group so I get to attend. Thanks Steve for letting me know. Thanks Bubba for teaching
At this life stage I need to focus on building deep deep convictions that will stand all of life's violence
Bubba honored Bill and Julia Simmonds' amazing 40th wedding anniversary and dedication
Men are to speak in a way that brings life - the Very words of God
Image bearers - Genesis 2 - value comes from God - IDENTITY
This applies to CCRP
Job Description
- Be fruitful and Multiply - Build Legacy
- Subdue Creation - Build Culture - How does my gifting and "plate size" fit into where God puts me
- Have Dominion - Steward all that God gives me well, rule in a way that speaks the character of God
My Goal in marriage, fatherhood, Job, and ministry needs to be to cultivate people and creation
Parenting
Cultivating the heart of kids, they need structure and to be under authority, Goal is to cultivate their heart toward God
The man was created first, he names the woman, and "the woman was made for the man, not the woman for the man"
+This all implies heirarchy
+He is responsible for her and must take good care of her other wise 1Peter 3:7b applies to him
+He is to steward his wife and his kids
+He is to be the humble leader of his family
The Goal is Marriage is oneness
Fall - How the Perfect system is Marred
Satan engages the woman, he disrespects the heirarchy
Eve is persuaded - sin looks good and she now "needs" it
Adam fails to to protect his wife by being passive
+Not embrace who God has called me to be is a horrible evil
Result of their sin is shame
Man Curse - all of your Job Description will suck because it is now toil
God says because you listened to eve and Satan you are cursed, you should have led
Bottom Line - Follow God and Love People
Jesus and Peter
Ballard Church 9-11-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll
Tags:
Luke 22:24-30
Jesus and Peter
Peter was a business man in the fishing industry; he leaves all of this and follows Jesus
God sometimes gives business leaders particular experience so it can be used for kingdom service
Jesus knows who will Fail Him
Jesus prays that Peter's faith will not fail
Jesus calls him Simon (his old name) because He knows Peter will go back to his old ways
+Jesus is prophesying Peter's failure
Jesus literally is saying that Satan wants to tear Peter apart
Is this from my enemy?
Satan works through the World, the flesh, and the Devil
+The Flesh is a predispoition toward failure, death, and sin
+The Devil comes with accusations, temptations, 2nd person statements, lies, condemnations--attack on my Identity in Christ
++There is now no condemnation in Christ, Greater is he that is in me than he who is in the World
++Jesus declares that there will always be a way out of temptation
Even the Best Among us fail Jesus
Peter is the best, he is the Senior Leader, he writes books of the Bible, after Jesus he is the highest spiritual authority on the Earth
+He is one of the closest people to Jesus on the Earth
+He is the first one on Earth to recognize Jesus as the Messiah
+Peter is not even facing certain punishment, he is facing potential suffering
Not forcing my religion on someone else is saying it's okay for you to go to Hell as long as you
Peter made a vow and he is totally broken over facing his God who just heard him deny Hiim
Judas
He only has remorse not repentance
He hang's himself
The Non-Christian only has remorse so he runs toward destruction
This is utterly without hope, totally dark
+We are at the place like Solomon, just looking at everything under the Sun
Jesus Fails No One
Even thought we're faithless he is faithful
My relationship is held to Jesus by failthfulness, not my faithfullness, Jesus' faithfullness
Peter should have gone to the cross to die, Not Jesus
+Jesus goes to the death that Peter deserves because He loves his friend, It Is Finished
Peter hears that Jesus is gone, so he runs all out and gets there first
Jesus doesn't fail me, I fail Him
It is finished is Good news, we don't need theraputic garbage that is good advice we need Good News
I've failed God so many times, how can I ask Him to take me back?
It doesn't matter what I've done, Jesus cannot lose a Christian
Though our feeling come and go, Jesus' love is quite relentless to end our sins despite the cost to me and to Him.
The Remedy for failure is Friendship with Jesus
Jesus prophesies Peter's future repentance
In order to tell the Good News we need to tell the whole story of our failures
+I failed, Jesus did it all, Yeah Jesus.
Peter is not the hero of his Life, he is the villian, Jesus is the Hero
John 21
Jesus had breakfast (He physically rose from death--JW are wrong)
Jesus Restored Peter by asking him three times if he loves Him, and tells him what to do
Sin is not just the breaking of God's laws, it's the breaking of Jesus' heart
+I am breaking the heart of my Friend
If you love Jesus:
+You won't live for the approval of others
+You won't lie
+You won't deny me
PM Going back to their first Church where he was baptized
Jesus not only loved people, but allows them to feed his sheep
Peter's end
As an old man he is arrested for preaching Jesus
He is Given the same opporunity to sin to deny to fail again but after years of Jesus' faithfullness to him
He doesn't deny him
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Jesus and True Greatness - Luke #90
Ballard Campus 9-11-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll
Tags: Leaders, Greatness, Serving, Comedy, Marriage
Luke 22:24-30
Jesus and True Greatness
Story of talking to a political manager, explaining the gospel's monuments as people
Mars Hill is just like a campaign manager, everyone remembers the candidate not the campaign manager
+We don't want to leave an amazing monument about us, but we will leave behind the people who met an amazing God
The dumbest argument in the History of the World
12 guys and Jesus in a circle arguing about whose the best
Instead of mocking and shaming them Jesus redirects their desires
The pursuit of greatness is not evil but we can't pursue it as the World presents it
Filter for good things that God has made that have been twisted by sin
+Receive Greatness - as the World sees it
+Reject Greatness - see it as bad even though Gpd made it to be pursued
+Redeem Greatess - Pursue greatness in the way that God would have you to, rejecting arrogance, but desiring the things of God
We ought not reject greatness but pursue redeemed greatness
Seek Godly Greatness
The non-Christians are using greatness as a means to rule and have authority for its own sake
+In the World, the job, ministry, organization, or movement is all about the Leader's glory
Today the goal is to have so much power that everyone serves you and provides you with awesome experiences
Experience Economy - from Commodities to good to service to experience
Barista is the Greek word for punching bag
The Clerks at the Bank and the Ticket counter clerks at the Airport
Jesus says that the greatest are the ones who serve others
+the implications from this statement: treating those in the service sector, we should tip well even if the service sucks
+Isaiah 44-66 is all about Jesus as the Suffering Servant
Greatness is simply service
Do you welcome Jesus to Serve you?
Jesus is not like the dad who says I will love you when/if you get your life sraight
Jesus delights to serve us and build us into servants to help and love other people
Do you humbly allow others to serve you?
+No. I feel terrible when someone gives me anything. My heart is hard and arrogant I the area of service. A friend gave me $200 cash. I couldn't even talk with it in my hand. It was too much. I am so arrogant that I feel like it's my job to give money to other people, to give them my hand-man skills, or to give them food, or to be the one who has it all together.
One of the ways we serve others is by allowing them to serve us.
Marriage: I will rob my spouse of the honor to serve when I act like I don't need anything from her. It's like saying, "There is no place in my life for you."
Do I humbly serve others with selfless motives?
+No. I want to be in control and have my life together.
Are you willing to do menial tasks?
+Yes.
Jesus started doing a menial job, then humbly served thousands for a brief time, then he served billions by dying on the Cross.
+The result of this service in the heart of a Christian is a new heart that desires to serve others.
+The same word where Jesus is talking about serving is the word Deacon
Am I lazy or disorganized?
+No. I tend to organize everything.
Is my life marked more by getting stuff for myself or giving stuff away?
Would you rather achieve a status or make a difference?
Jesus lived a life that made a difference even though he died in dishonor
Seek Eternal Greatness
Do I practicly over look the truth that this life is only the beginning?
+A relationship is not that big of a deal, this life is just the beginning. I need to give this to Jesus, because he is strong enough to hold it. I need to be humble and accept Jesus' help.
The Big party at the end is like Julia and Bill Simmons' big 40th anniversary party. Where I get to be in the same room with a truely great man and eat amazing food that is beyond anything I could imagine.
Where Am I on this Continuum?
Selfish Servant
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
I am a young single man, I am by definition a selfish jerk; it takes 7-14 years in marriage to go from me to we. But I try to help the Church.
Marriage? N/A
Kids? 1
Friendship? 2
Schooling? N/A
Work? 0
Church? 3
Neighbors? 1
Don't waste my singleness with selfishness, try to use it to grow in humble service.
I feel like a failure because I tried to serve someone and it feels like it was not enough. This is a lie, but damnit it's hard to reject this lie. Jesus please help me surrender this to you. The truth is that God's plan is the best plan; he will provide at the right time in the right way for the right purpose.
Selfishness leads to misery, it just does, and servanthood leads to joy.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Jesus and True Greatness
Ballard Campus 9-11-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll
Tags: Leaders, Greatness, Serving
Luke 22:24-30
Jesus and True Greatness
Mars Hill is just like a campaign manager, everyone remembers the candidate not the campaign manager
+We don't want to leave an amazing monument about us, but we will leave behind the people who met an amazing God
The dumbest argument in the History of the World
12 guys and Jesus in a circle arguing about whose the best
Instead of mocking and shaming them Jesus redirects their desires
The pursuit of greatness is not evil but we can't pursue it as the World presents it
We ought not reject greatness but pursue redeemed greatness
Seek Godly Greatness
The non-Christians are using greatness as a means to rule and have authority for its own sake.
Today the goal is to have so much power that everyone serves you and provides you with awesome experiences
Experience Economy - from Commodities to good to service to experience
Jesus says that the greatest are the ones who serve others
+the implications from this statement: treating those in the service sector, we should tip well even if the service sucks
+Isaiah 44-66 is all about Jesus as the Suffering Servant
Do you welcome Jesus to Serve you?
Do you humbly allow others to serve you?
+No. I feel terrible when someone gives me anything. My heart is hard and arrogant I the area of receiving. A friend gave me $200 cash. I couldn't even talk with it in my hand. It was too much. I am so arrogant that I feel like it's my job to give money to other people, to give them my building skills, or to give them food, or to be the one who has it all together.
Do I humbly serve others with selfless motives?
+No. I want to be in control and have my life together.
Are you willing to do menial tasks?
+Yes.
Jesus started doing a menial job, then humbly served thousands for a brief time, then he served billions by dying on the Cross.
+The result of this service in the heart of a Christian is a new heart that desires to serve others.
+The same word where Jesus is talking about serving is the word Deacon
Am I lazy or disorganized?
+No. I tend to organize everything, this may have been a contributing factor to my most recent failure.
Is my life marked more by getting stuff for myself or giving stuff away?
Would you rather achieve a status or make a difference?
Jesus lived a life that made a difference even though he died in dishonor
Seek Eternal Greatness
Do I practicly over look the truth that this life is only the beginning?
+A relationship is not that big of a deal, this life is just the beginning. I need to give this to Jesus, because he is strong enough to hold it. I need to be humble and accept Jesus' help
The Big party at the end is like Julia and Bill Simmons' big 40th anniversary party. Where I get to be in the same room with a truely great man and eat amazing food that is beyond anything I could imagine.
Where Am I on this Continuum?
Selfish Servant
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
I am a young single man, I am by definition a selfish jerk.
Marriage?
Friendship?
Schooling?
Work?
Church?
Don't waste my singleness with selfishness, try to use it to grow in humble service.
I feel like a failure because I tried to serve someone and it feels like it was not enough. This is a lie, but damnit it's hard to reject this lie. Jesus please help me surrender this to you. The truth is that God's plan is the best plan; he will provide at the right time in the right way for the right purpose.
Selfishness leads to misery, it just does, and servanthood leads to joy.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Jesus and the Last Supper
Ballard Church 8-28-11 Pastor Dave Bruskas
Tags: Communion, Fear, Horror, Love
Luke 22:1-23
Jesus and the Last Supper
What does Communion mean to Jesus?
Communion should not be about my weaknesses and my struggles it's about Jesus
The Scene
Passover arrives and the priest and the scribes are trying to initiate a plan to kill Jesus.
Jesus is taking the center stage of the Passover feast and the religious establishment is losing power and influence. To get rid of Jesus publicly they would face a horrible PR situation
Perspective Shift - God looking into the situation, not my prespective
Satan is working in the story by taking Judas and using the situation of the Priests and Scribes
The Priests find their mole into Jesus organization in Judas
In Acts 2, Peter says that Jesus' death was part of God the Father's plan to finish the struggle
Jesus' plan is better than mine.
Pastor Bruskas' Story
His mom was an alcoholic, she started crying attends a bible study, gets saved, his dad is later saved
From 7th grade Dave prays for a son who will change the world for God, he continues for 13 years. He marries and has a little boy. The little one can't breath and is heaving in despiration to live.
Dave prayed asking Jesus to honor his plan to have this special son. God responded by saying join me on my plan to change the World through his son, Jesus.
For me, I can only control a tiny part of the World and if I try to live independently, I will be perenially disappointed.
Jesus' word is more Reliable than Mine
Jesus laid out the precise plan to eat the Passover to John and it all worked out exactly
The dsiciples' words are unreliable yet everytime Jesus speaks it is always trustworth and true
My word is just like the disciples, it is unreliable
The truth is that the word of jesus keeps our relationship alive, not my word and my pledges
Pastor Bruskas' Story
After all the surgeries didn't help, he developed ulcers and started to bleed
Dave was done, he couldn't bear it any more, he could even pray.
There is no way I am strong enough to withstand the blow of a sickening and dying little one. This is my second greatest fear in life. God, if it's your will that I be married and have little ones great, your will be done. But I am afraid, just to avoid my greatest fear (the rape of my wife or my daughter and my unstoppable revenge) or my second greatest fear (the death of my child), I'd almost prefer to live at the 9% of people that never marry. Holy Spirit please help my heart. You said fear not. I'm trying but it's very hard.
Repentance
Don't make my relationship with God about what I have vowed, because all my vows are unreliable only his promises are dependable
His Love is Bigger than Mine
Jesus says I have "earnestly desired" to eat this meal
+Jesus is emtionally charged up, he is about to fulfill all of Passover he is eating with his men who he is about to save them from sin and connect them to the Father
+Jesus is about to shower love on his men by dying for them
+Jesus is fulfilling the promise to Abraham to bless all the families of the Earth through the coming descendents
+Jer 31 - New Covenant is coming with God's law written on their hearts, they will have their sin forgiven, God says, "I will..." God will come and change things and fix this problem
Pastor Dave's Story
His little boy died on Dec 15th. They unplugged him.
Dave's mind was still foggy and his heart was still cold.
Jesus showed up and told Dave, "I got this, this is why I came"
Jesus' Disciples
After this amazing moment of intimacy with God, they begin to argue over who is the greatest among them
Communion
What does this meal mean to Jesus?
He loves us so much that he died, he want nothing he only gives and changes us and gives us all that we need to walk is a new truely worshipful life
Where do I have a plan for my life that is not God's plan and I am holding onto instead of holding onto Jesus?
Friday, September 9, 2011
The Inebriated Preacher
Pastor Hughes 09-09-10 Ballard Campus
1 Tim 4:13-16
The Inebriated Preacher
Progress
This kind of preacher uses the Bible the way a drunk uses a lamp post, for support not for illumination.
Basically we come with a set of preconceptions that we lay in the Bible instead of coming to it with hands empty to learn and by the ghost's grace understand
Verses of Dire Warning for Preachers - Act 11:28-30, 1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8:1-4
Hughes on Men
Why are real men completely absent from churches in the United States?
A real man knows that life sucks, relationships fall appart, ships sink, people die, life is short, poverty is crouching at the door.
+Saying Jesus is just a means to an end smells like a lie to any man who lives in reality.
+Preaching the risen Christ who lived a horrible life and was murdered, yet after rising still stands with us even as we are blindsided and limp toward the Kingdom rings true, it is a hard word, but it is a transformative word, by the grace of the Ghost.
2nd Timothy
Pastor Dave Bruskas 09-09-11 Ballard Campus
2 Tim Chapter 2
2nd Timothy
**this Sermon was designed just for Re:Train, the preaching of the word done by a seasoned preacher**
Paul is trying to fan the flame of the fire God place in Timothy
Paul is trying to create an image in Tim's mind to inspire him and give him an "aha" moment
Explanation of the cultural reference
In a weathy house all the instruments used for proper use were made of gold
Also chamber pots were used to remove human and food waste
What is the message Paul is communicating?
There are those who belong to Jesus and teach a true gospel
There are enemies of God who prevert truth and ruin people
Danger: believing the lie that if I want to be a good preacher then I need to clean myself up first
The essence of being Holy in Christ is that I am set appart for Jesus to use in his house, we sit ready and waiting excitedly for God to use us because he has readied and transformed me
The Melodic Line
Pastor Justin Holcomb 09-09-10 Ballard Campus
The Melodic Line
There is the Simian Trust Group present
The importance of the succession of notes that give a song a unique / organic quality that sticks with you
Motiffs and figures combined together delivers the force of something done right, something that feels complete
The Melodic Line is the hook that captures my attention
Hamilton's Melodic Line book shows in scripture how the over-arching story of the Bible is communicated using a string of metaphorical notes to tell the story
How to find a Melodic Line for an entire book of the Bible
A preacher needs to be able to see these lines when they teach books of the Bible so they are focused and effective in communicating the point of the author (the Ghost)
Look for Top Tail of a book / passage
Look for Repetition (Words, concepts, Inclusio {lead-in and close-out character or phrase that act as parantheses for a passage or even book in scripture})
Look for paranthetical structure of text
Look for a thesis statement by the author
Testing for a Melodic Line
Does it frame or make sense of the rest of the text?
Danger: Doing violence to the text - placing a systematic theology over the text
Example - Book for Jude
From 1,2 and 24,25
Possible Melodic Lines:
+"Keep" or "Keeping" appears over and over - Jesus is awesome because he keeps you, this focus on our passivity and Jesus' activity
++But we see an active "contending" as a balance to the passive keeping
+verses 5-16 show the alternative state of being kept in condemnation, now 1-3 and 24-25 are extra important because of the contrast
Themes and sub-themes are important but they are viewed in light of the larger melodic line of the book.
Recognizing Melodic Lines allows a preacher to pull out even more depth from a passage, all the different variations on the same motiff and the sub themes and the figures from a passage show through; the nuances are brought out
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Maturity in Jesus
Ballard Campus 9-3-11 Pastor Bill Clem
Tags: Maturity,
1 John 2:12-14
Maturity in Jesus
To the little children with their sins forgiven, to father, to young men who are strong, to children who know the father
He repeats the children, dads and young men twice
God's forgiveness is the freeing grace that lets us escape from the trap of sin with no progress
Jesus is our advocate to help me when I do sin
1 John 1:9 - we get to know freedom because when we confess our sins to Jesus he will clease us from all unrighteousness
Immature faith is just seeing that Jesus has forgiven my sins and that's it
More mature faith realizes that I was forgiven because God is glorified in forgiving me
Just living in the place where I am going from forgiven on Sunday to forgiven the next Sunday is just an immature responce
Pushing through the place where it doesn't feel like a buzz to the place where I press into Jesus is real maturity
Maturity is not:
+Theological Knowledge
+Accuracy
+Life Experience
+Talents or gifting
++God has spread skills/gifts out throughout the whole body of christ so that we would need eachother.
Is my emotional experience getting less and less real, may mean that God could be transitioning me to mroe solid food and greater maturity
Young Men
Over come the evil one
You have over come the evil one because we have Jesus and he has empowered me.
Maybe when John calls young men as strong, he may be refering to our strength in the Holy Spirit
3rd Couterfeit
Teaching a skill, does not indicate siritutual maturity
The Dark Night of the Soul
When God withholds fruit from a christian to build up maturity
Maturity means that we are no longer center stage
Our relationship with Jesus grows over time and he will remind you of all the times he tookcare of you, all the inside jokes and laughing memories that he shares with me from time to time, there is a reason why I randomly burst into laughter on occasion
More mature people sometimes get the opportunity to see an enemy turned into a new baby
More mature people get to disciple other and see them grow in maturity
Monday, August 22, 2011
The Parable of the Fig Tree
Ballard Campus 8-21-11 Pastor Tim Smith
Tags: Grace
Luke 21:29-38
The Parable of the Fig Tree
Portland
8 groups up and running
20-30 groups by January
Need a new biblical families pastor
This is it, Jesus is only a day or two away from his execution
Jesus' words are increasing in urgency and force - A strong challenge to live in light of these strong realities
+To live in light of the return of the King
+What is at the front of my mind day in and day out, what consumes my attention?
++My desire to control my little part of creation. This is shown in my PP/OP/CC, my mental and physical protocols, my lists, my plans, my sleeplessness, my nails, my meals, my blogs
Jesus has already said that the kingdom is already here and yet still is to come fully in Jesus' second coming
The Father is so kind that he uses even us to expand his Kingdom in our own little spheres
A Tough Verse
Which generation? All of which things will be completed before a generation passes away?
Can my three pound (really it's only like 2.4 pounds, My Cranium is pretty small) brain really get the heavens into it
Possible interpretations
+There will be a future generation that will experience all of Rev's craziness and it all be accomplished in one generation
+The generation of sin, rebellion, and evil against God will not pass away (no utopia is possible) before Thug Jesus returns and ends it
+
Dissipation means that your might miss the coming because you are hungover
Don't let that day come on you
+It will come like a trap catcihing an animal who will certainly die - very strong image
Do I live a life focused on whatever is right in front of me? Is a potential relationship appearing soo much bigger than God's Kingdom? The project of the house? Are the details of my life dwarfing my Kingdom focus? God Help me. I can't please you by planning and focusing on perfecting my little universe. You already love me fully in your Grace. Help me glimpse you Kingdom, be caught in the image of it and live this life until the wheels fall off.
The danger is real, if I live for the pleasures of this life I will miss Jesus, I will not live in Joy, I will drown in the anxiety of this world which is passing away.
Don't get lost in the tyranny of life.
Jesus' Last Days
Jesus is razor focused on his mission
So with only a few days to live he goes out camping on the Mount of Olives to be alone with his Father, he didn't let the cares and details and demands of his life instead he focused on the Father's Kingdom and the Father's Will.
Observations from this text
Jesus' Work is all that is needed to live happily in his kingdom. I can't do anything to earn God's favor I already have it
1 - Pray so that my independence is broken down; with God's violence in my soul breaking down my walls my attempts to build my own kingdom are ruined gloriously
+Prayer is a declaration of war on my independence, a declaration of was on self-importance, a declaration of war on my focus on the details of this world, a declaration of war on my anxiety, a declaration of war on the frantic pace of life (which I love), A declaration of war on works based righteousness, a declaration of war on cynicism and unbelief
2 - Worship the giver rather than his gifts - Romans talk of worshiping the good things that become God-things making them bad things
3 - Steward everthing for the Kingdom - My stuff, talents, and time are all God's possesions, these things are not mine
+My identity is not based on my roles of gifts, I am image-bearing disciple maker who was created to worship God not to obsess over all the detail of life - Everything I have been given is to be used to make disciples and bringing glory to him
4 - Anticipate his return with a sense of urgency
+Do I believe the lies yelled at me by this world (Just wait to tell that guy about Jesus,
.....
Tags: Grace
Luke 21:29-38
The Parable of the Fig Tree
Portland
8 groups up and running
20-30 groups by January
Need a new biblical families pastor
Sermon
This is it, Jesus is only a day or two away from his execution
Jesus' words are increasing in urgency and force - A strong challenge to live in light of these strong realities
+To live in light of the return of the King
+What is at the front of my mind day in and day out, what consumes my attention?
++My desire to control my little part of creation. This is shown in my PP/OP/CC, my mental and physical protocols, my lists, my plans, my sleeplessness, my nails, my meals, my blogs
Jesus has already said that the kingdom is already here and yet still is to come fully in Jesus' second coming
The Father is so kind that he uses even us to expand his Kingdom in our own little spheres
A Tough Verse
Which generation? All of which things will be completed before a generation passes away?
Can my three pound (really it's only like 2.4 pounds, My Cranium is pretty small) brain really get the heavens into it
Possible interpretations
+There will be a future generation that will experience all of Rev's craziness and it all be accomplished in one generation
+The generation of sin, rebellion, and evil against God will not pass away (no utopia is possible) before Thug Jesus returns and ends it
+
Dissipation means that your might miss the coming because you are hungover
Don't let that day come on you
+It will come like a trap catcihing an animal who will certainly die - very strong image
Do I live a life focused on whatever is right in front of me? Is a potential relationship appearing soo much bigger than God's Kingdom? The project of the house? Are the details of my life dwarfing my Kingdom focus? God Help me. I can't please you by planning and focusing on perfecting my little universe. You already love me fully in your Grace. Help me glimpse you Kingdom, be caught in the image of it and live this life until the wheels fall off.
The danger is real, if I live for the pleasures of this life I will miss Jesus, I will not live in Joy, I will drown in the anxiety of this world which is passing away.
Don't get lost in the tyranny of life.
Jesus' Last Days
Jesus is razor focused on his mission
So with only a few days to live he goes out camping on the Mount of Olives to be alone with his Father, he didn't let the cares and details and demands of his life instead he focused on the Father's Kingdom and the Father's Will.
Observations from this text
Jesus' Work is all that is needed to live happily in his kingdom. I can't do anything to earn God's favor I already have it
1 - Pray so that my independence is broken down; with God's violence in my soul breaking down my walls my attempts to build my own kingdom are ruined gloriously
+Prayer is a declaration of war on my independence, a declaration of was on self-importance, a declaration of war on my focus on the details of this world, a declaration of war on my anxiety, a declaration of war on the frantic pace of life (which I love), A declaration of war on works based righteousness, a declaration of war on cynicism and unbelief
2 - Worship the giver rather than his gifts - Romans talk of worshiping the good things that become God-things making them bad things
3 - Steward everthing for the Kingdom - My stuff, talents, and time are all God's possesions, these things are not mine
+My identity is not based on my roles of gifts, I am image-bearing disciple maker who was created to worship God not to obsess over all the detail of life - Everything I have been given is to be used to make disciples and bringing glory to him
4 - Anticipate his return with a sense of urgency
+Do I believe the lies yelled at me by this world (Just wait to tell that guy about Jesus,
.....
Monday, August 15, 2011
Quotations on all Subjects
Dreams
TE Lawrence(of Arabia) - The Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph - All men dream but not equally those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds awake in the day to find that it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.
Parenting
Parents: Prov 3:11-12 “My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.”
Moms: Titus 2:3-5 “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”
Dads: Prov 19:13 “A foolish son is ruin to his father, and a wife's quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.”
Parents: Eph 6:1-4 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.’ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
Dads: 1 Tim 5:8, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Dads: Prov 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children.”
Parents: Prov 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Dads: Prov 4:1-2 “Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.”
Dads: Prov 13:1 “A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.”
Parents: Prov 13:24 “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”
Parents: Prov 23:13-14 “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.
Parents: Prov 29:17 “Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.”
Dads: Job 1:5 “When the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them [his children], and he would rise early in the morning [he dealt with things quickly] and offer burnt offerings [this is worship] according to the number of them all. For Job said, ‘It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job did continually.”
Parents: Jer 29:4-7 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
Parents: Is 8:18 “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.”
Parents: 1 Pet 1:18 you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers…
Leadership
With the wolves you cannot be too severe; with the weak sheep you cannot be too gentle. -Martin Luther
No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. -Jesus Christ
consider carefully how you listen. -Jesus Christ
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world -1 John 4:4
The greatest and most momentous fact which the history of the world records is the fact of his [Jesus] birth. -Charles Haddon Spurgeon
. . . in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord -Rom8:37-39
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold - Psalm 18:2
But you, o Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head -Psalm 3:3
“True pastors have enough of care and travail without being burdened by undeserved and useless fault-finding. We have something better to do than to be for ever answering every malignant or frivolous slander which is set afloat to injur us. . . . “ - Charles Spurgeon
“Many hearers lose much blessing through criticizing too much, and meditating too little” - Charles Spurgeon
“As ministers we are very far from being perfect, but many of us are doing our best, and we are grieved that the minds of our people should be more directed to our personal imperfections than to our divine message. . . .” - Charles Spurgeon
“Judge the preacher if you like, but do remember that there is something better to be done than that, namely, to get all the good you can out of him, and pray his Master to put more good into him.” - Charles Spurgeon
“I have no better remedy than anger. If I want to write, pray, preach well, then I must be angry. Then my entire blood supply refreshes itself, my mind is made keen, and all temptations depart.” - Martin Luther
“let each servant of God tell his message in his own way. To his own Master he shall stand or fall...” - Charles Spurgeon
A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see, and who sees before others do." – Leroy Eims
“How do leaders earn respect? By making sound decisions, admitting their mistakes, and putting what's best for their followers and the organization ahead of their personal agendas.” – John Maxwell
“The leader finds the dream and then the people. The people find the leader, and then the dream.” – John Maxwell
“True greatness, true leadership, is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“Pride ever lurks at the heels of power, but God will not encourage proud men in His service. Rather, He will oppose and obstruct them.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“Before we can conqueror the world, we must first conqueror the self.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“Lazy and disorganized people never rise to true leadership.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“If knowledge is the accumulation of facts, and intelligence the development of reason, wisdom is heavenly discernment.” J. Oswald Saunders from Spiritual Leadership
“Wisdom gives a leader balance and helps to avoid eccentricity and extravagance. If knowledge comes by study, wisdom comes by Holy Spirit filling.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“Humility is the hallmark of the spiritual leader.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“The goal of prayer is the ear of God. Prayer moves others through God’s influence on them. It is not the prayer that moves people, but the God to whom we pray.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“The true test of a person’s leadership is the health of the organization when the organizer is gone.” -J.Oswald Saunders
TE Lawrence(of Arabia) - The Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph - All men dream but not equally those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds awake in the day to find that it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.
Parenting
Parents: Prov 3:11-12 “My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.”
Moms: Titus 2:3-5 “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”
Dads: Prov 19:13 “A foolish son is ruin to his father, and a wife's quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.”
Parents: Eph 6:1-4 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.’ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
Dads: 1 Tim 5:8, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Dads: Prov 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children.”
Parents: Prov 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Dads: Prov 4:1-2 “Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.”
Dads: Prov 13:1 “A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.”
Parents: Prov 13:24 “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”
Parents: Prov 23:13-14 “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.
Parents: Prov 29:17 “Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.”
Dads: Job 1:5 “When the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them [his children], and he would rise early in the morning [he dealt with things quickly] and offer burnt offerings [this is worship] according to the number of them all. For Job said, ‘It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job did continually.”
Parents: Jer 29:4-7 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
Parents: Is 8:18 “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.”
Parents: 1 Pet 1:18 you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers…
Leadership
With the wolves you cannot be too severe; with the weak sheep you cannot be too gentle. -Martin Luther
No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. -Jesus Christ
consider carefully how you listen. -Jesus Christ
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world -1 John 4:4
The greatest and most momentous fact which the history of the world records is the fact of his [Jesus] birth. -Charles Haddon Spurgeon
. . . in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord -Rom8:37-39
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold - Psalm 18:2
But you, o Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head -Psalm 3:3
“True pastors have enough of care and travail without being burdened by undeserved and useless fault-finding. We have something better to do than to be for ever answering every malignant or frivolous slander which is set afloat to injur us. . . . “ - Charles Spurgeon
“Many hearers lose much blessing through criticizing too much, and meditating too little” - Charles Spurgeon
“As ministers we are very far from being perfect, but many of us are doing our best, and we are grieved that the minds of our people should be more directed to our personal imperfections than to our divine message. . . .” - Charles Spurgeon
“Judge the preacher if you like, but do remember that there is something better to be done than that, namely, to get all the good you can out of him, and pray his Master to put more good into him.” - Charles Spurgeon
“I have no better remedy than anger. If I want to write, pray, preach well, then I must be angry. Then my entire blood supply refreshes itself, my mind is made keen, and all temptations depart.” - Martin Luther
“let each servant of God tell his message in his own way. To his own Master he shall stand or fall...” - Charles Spurgeon
A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see, and who sees before others do." – Leroy Eims
“How do leaders earn respect? By making sound decisions, admitting their mistakes, and putting what's best for their followers and the organization ahead of their personal agendas.” – John Maxwell
“The leader finds the dream and then the people. The people find the leader, and then the dream.” – John Maxwell
“True greatness, true leadership, is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“Pride ever lurks at the heels of power, but God will not encourage proud men in His service. Rather, He will oppose and obstruct them.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“Before we can conqueror the world, we must first conqueror the self.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“Lazy and disorganized people never rise to true leadership.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“If knowledge is the accumulation of facts, and intelligence the development of reason, wisdom is heavenly discernment.” J. Oswald Saunders from Spiritual Leadership
“Wisdom gives a leader balance and helps to avoid eccentricity and extravagance. If knowledge comes by study, wisdom comes by Holy Spirit filling.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“Humility is the hallmark of the spiritual leader.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“The goal of prayer is the ear of God. Prayer moves others through God’s influence on them. It is not the prayer that moves people, but the God to whom we pray.” -J.Oswald Saunders
“The true test of a person’s leadership is the health of the organization when the organizer is gone.” -J.Oswald Saunders
Sunday, August 14, 2011
The Time of the Gentiles
Ballard Campus 8-14-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll
Tags: Prophesy, Escatology, Forknowledge, Soverinty
Luke 21:20-24
The Time of the Gentiles
How to see History - God's perspective on our existence
Forknowledge - Some have confidence and good guesses but God is the only
Prophesy - when God reveals the future
Soverinty - God orchestrating history and prophesy to demonstrate his foreknowledge
Jesus demonstates his Forknowledge for the coming 40 years after his death and resurrection and into out future
The conclusions of the three epochs of history
1 The Temple will be destroyed - Jewish practice will be ending
2 The time of the Gentiles - God doing something new
3 Jesus will return
The temple will be Destroyed
It will be surrounded and everyone should leave it
This was the connecting point between God and man, it was a great wonder of the world, the place where the whole nation found identity, the place of peace
This was the spot where generations and generations had come to worship God, all of your lineage as a Jew would tell stories about the Temple
Then Jesus says all of this will be destroyed
You can't have love without wrath - God is fully Just, Wrathful, and Vengence
The destruction of the Temple was wrath from God because the nation rejected the Messiah and all the disciples putting 11 of the 12 to death.
This shows that Judgement will be pourred out on all those who reject Jesus and persecute his followers
During 70AD the Roman legions surrounded the city and waited to starve the city to death
Tacitus and Josephius both report that 500k to 1 million jews died in the siege of Jerusalem
+There was cannibalism and nursing mothers starved even as their children starved
A fire was accidentally set which burned some of the temple, then the order was given to totally deconstruct and tear down the entire city
The temple was torn appart stone by stone - It remains that way to this day
Judaism is over
We don't need to rely on a place to be closer to God, you can't be any closer than Jesus
+My faith is in a person not in a place
God chose to force the end of the Sacrificial System and the temple-centric religious system using the Romans to pour out his wrath
Jesus tells them to run away from the city (very counter-intuitive)
+The Jewish people stayed in the City and died
+The Chrstians lived and spread out carrying the good news with them
The Gentiles Will be Saved
Jesus says now the truth about God is going global
Gentiles are made into spiritual descendants of Abraham
Abram was a non-Jew who bleieved the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness and he responded in obedience
+His spiritual descendants are the Christians because they trust in the same God who spoke to Abraham
Ruth, Rahab all became a worshipper of God and became spiritual descendants of Abraham by faith
God's plan was always to serve and redeem all of humanity so he accepted owrshippers who were not Jewish, the plan was to tell the world about Himself using the jews
God forced the issue by scattering the Christians in all dirrections
Translations (2000+ languages) and missionaries are sent everywhere even across the street
I get to be part of a global movement led by the Holy Spirit to bring the knowledge of Jesus to everyone
The only reconciliation that is possible is when people live for the Glory of Jesus
The logical next step is to plant churches where people can be taught and loved and protected from false doctrine
+The Resurgence
+Acts 29 - 400 US churches 500 potential leaders in process
+Campus plants
+Focus is in planting churches in cities because students, tourists, business poeple pass through cities and can take the news of Jesus to the nations - strategic
History Ends Because Jesus will Return
Straighten up and raise up your heads during this time
We must live faithfully and humbly until that day comes
The dead will rise
There will be a final judgment
There will be a heaven and hell
The Kingdom of God will cover all people and will never end
We must live our lives in light of eternity
Everything hinges on whether or not we trust in Jesus
Readying for Jesus Return
1 - Do you really believe that Jesus will return? Faith is believeing that Jesus is honest
2 - Am I overly concerned with the details of Jesus' return?
+Compelling His people to hysteria over the return of Jesus
3 - If Jesus comes today, would I regret anything?
4 - If Jesus comes today, who would I regret not telling about Jesus?
5 - How can I plan for future generations while living ready for judgment day?
+this required living in tension
+movements tend to either shortsightedness or long-term planning but not planning
The Worst Tragedies Can Be the Best Opportunities
West Seattle Campus 8-14-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll
Tags: Prophesy, Escatology
Luke 21:5-19
The Worst Tragedies Can Be the Best Opportunities
Scripture is true but still difficult to understand but it's all true
This is the most debated section of the New Testament
The debate is over which items were soon to occur to the early church and which are still unfulfilled
The worst tragedies are sometimes the best opportunities
+Like the Crucifixion
The Temple will be Destroyed
There will not be left one stone upon another...
+People are like what signs will show this?!
+Jesus is speaking about the core of all of Judiasm being destroyed, he is speaking of their hope and the only connection of God
This statement is scandalous to the ruling powers (Herod, the Roman Gov't, or the priests), when you take away someone's idol they react violently
+The temple was a massive idol
The listeners heard and they believed Him.
+They want to prepare themselves for this cataclyism.
False Teachers Will Arise
Jesus warns that wolves will come to lead people astray
+They will prey on the emotions of people who are afraid
+This is true in the Near day of Jesus and the Far days like today
Farakan, Harold Kamping, the SDA, the Johovah's Witnesses, etc all try to prey on people with fear by making predictions and exploiting they fear
Mars Hill is on the welcoming committee not the planning committee for Jesus' return to the World.
Fruits and Nuts
Arnold Potter 1800s - Claimed to be possessed by Jesus and became Jesus "Potter-Christ"
Bahula (1800s) founder of the behai faith, he claimed to be the uniter of all the major world religions
Sum Yung Moon - Claims to be the 2nd coming of Jesus incarnate
Jim Jones claimed to be the 2nd coming of Buddy, Jesus, and Vlad Lennin
Heaven Gate Cult - Mass suicide for a comet
David Karesh - Said he was the son of God and 70+ people died in Texas
Growing in Grace Cult - Jose Miranda - "I do must greater things than Jesus of Nazareth"
When we get stressed we tend to use something to be a medication - some idiot claiming to be God, or Alcohol, or Food, or money
+Anything we use to deliver use from hard times
+Anything other than Jesus goes away and disappoints and devastates, because all things pass away
Sin Will Continue
Their will be horror on a massive scale - War, weather, genocides, etc.
+This is all because of Sin, God called the whole World good, we made life crooked
Desasters are like dress rehersals for the final end of Sin - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
In 3,400 years of recorded history there have been less than 300 years without war - ????
Jesus' People Will be Persecuted
Covert - no rewards, loss of jobs, loss of promotion, demotion, familial rejection, maginalization from friends, divorce
Overt - Murders and false criminal charges
Make the Most of Every Opportunity
With all the terror coming, what do we do? We get to testify about Jesus
Don't think about when to say, I will speak on your behalf
Jesus is our great message to minister to the people under the horrible circumstances of a world in peril
Jesus Christ makes persecution meaningful and even in the darkness of the days leading up to the end
Jerusalem's Fall
Canabalism, 500k-1mil jews died when the Romans lay siege to the City and eventually tore down the temple in 40AD
Even this horrible event was used by god to force the Christians out into the World to spread the good news
Jesus and the Sadducees
Ballard Campus 7-17-11 Pastor Bill Clem
Tags: Parable, Rhetoric, Perspective
Luke 20:27-44
Jesus and the Sadducees
Last week of Jesus' life
The Sadducees have this great argument saying that there cannot be a resurrection
Jesus pushes back by saying you religious professionals don't understand the scriptures and the are not sons of God
Jesus is saying their perspective is not God's perspective so it is flawed
+Kind of like a man looking into binoculars the wrong way, the perspective is ruined.
God's perspective is not waiting to pour out his wrath
All of the Father's wrath was poured out on Jesus, God is not like us, he is not filled with wrath based on how we perform
Jesus is chiding the Sadducees' beliefs because they pair down the God of the Bible into something manageable, not the Big God of the Universe
Jesus quotes the Psalms and leave an impossible question that cannot be answered without his impending death and resurrection. This question cannnot be answered without a supernatural event.
+Ths Sadducees believe in a non-supernatural existence (no resurrection)
Evidence for the Resurrection
+500 people at a time saw Jesus, and Paul says go ask them
+Roman soldiers guarded the legally sealed tomb to make sure there was no tampering.
People to pray for
1 The marriages both in and not so much in trouble
2 The single folks, the other folks
3 My Pastors to live in balance not in therapy and administrative, but rather a resurrection
4 For Seattle trying to live without God's perspective
5 The public education and the students enrolled
Jesus and Taxes
Ballard Campus 7-17-11 Pastor Bill Clem
Tags: Parable, Stewardship
Luke 20:19-26
Jesus and Taxes
We are in the final week of Jesus' life
Recap of Luke
The Trap
They feared the people and sent spies to entrap Jesus
The spies are playing the role of a good person, but it doesn't fit because they are not
Luke has shown that these people have shown great partiality, yet they compliment Jesus for doing just that.
Later the high priest accuses Jesus of opposing paying taxes, even though He says nothing of the sort
Notes end had amazing conversation with two of the hospitality volunteers
The Father of a Murdered Son
Ballard Campus 7-10-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll
Tags: Parable, Wrath, Murder
Luke 19:11-27
The Father of a Murdered Son
Jesus wants us to see the world and history from the perspective of God.
Should we put ourselves in the position of judge over God?
+We are the guilty trying to place ourselves on the Bemis seat.
Jesus is trying to open our understanding so we can gain a right perspective
Parable
There is a landowner who cultived the land by planting the vineyard and then went away - This is God the Father, the owner of everything
+He is not only a landowner but he is a father with an heir
In the OT there are 14 references to God as Father (always as the father of a nation)
There is a vineyard - This would have been the nation and people of Israel, see Isaiah 6, see the Temple with a gold vine with jewels in place of fruit - the Vine was a national symbol (like the maple leaf represents Canada)
There are Tenants - they are like renters who pay money to the lanlord based on what they make of the grapes
+These guys make a profit, they get greedy and don't pay their rent, they are stealing, They are basically saying, "This land doesn't belong to the landowner, it's mine"
+These guys are like the religious people who don't lead people toward repentance rather they are selling their voice to tell people what they want to hear
This parable is a rebuke of corrupt religious leader and a system that is not speaking for God
The First Servant - he preaches reptentance, he is like a prophet sent in the OT and John the Baptist
The Second Servant - he preaches reptentance, he is like a prophet sent in the OT and John the Baptist
The Third Servant - he preaches reptentance, he is like a prophet sent in the OT and John the Baptist
+The Prophets lives sucked, they were alone and called to preach to hard-hearted people who would not yield to the Holy Spirit, they would just try and often succeed in killing them
Humanity kept doing to the servants of God
Then the Father send his Beloved Son - He is Jesus
+He comes to mediate the disagreement and help the tenants
They decide to steal the land finally, they kill the son.
+This is the Story of the World from the Perspective of God
God loves so when his kid is murdered GOD MUST GET ANGRY
What does the Father Do?
Hell makes perfect sense - We hate God, we reject Him, We kill his servants, and finally we kill his Son - IT SHOULD GO BAD FOR US
The landowning father will destroy the renters - God will set aside the nation of Israel and work through other people
The commentators - Jesus is refering to the story of a particular stone that looked wrong to the builders, it was rejected and thrown to the scrap heap, then after laying everything out they see that that one odd-ball stone was the perfect one to be the cornerstone, so they reclaimed that stone, and used it to build the Temple
....
What I must do is start with Jesus and then build my life on that
If I don't then Jesus will be like the stone that crushes me
Jesus Says I died, If you renpent then I will take my death and count it to cover your eternal debt
The Father says if you take my son's offer, then I'll adopt you into my family and give you my family name of Christian
Oh and by the way since you were greedy to get my stuff I'll give you an eternal inheritance
Scandalous
Are there any aspects of my life where Jesus is not the cornerstone?
Are there any aspects of my life where I am acting like the wicked tenants?
Are there any aspects of my life where I am not a fruitful like the vine?
Angry Jesus Cleanses the Temple
Ballard Campus 7-03-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll
Tags: Anger, Temple
Luke 19:28-44
Angry Jesus Cleanses the Temple
The City of Jeruslem is filled with corrupt business seeking to rip people off
+The City and region is not a Holy land only Jesus makes people Holy not a place
Jesus Got Angry
Jesus is pissed because the Temple while filled with the presence of God is made a Den of Thieves
If you love God means you hate injustice you hate sin
Anger is a responce to what is invalid or against God
Jesus quotes Isaiah 56 when he points to the Temple's purpose (Prayer)
....
....
....
The court of the Gentiles were the non-Christians, they got the cheap seats
The Businesses were placed in the place for evengelism thus crowding out the people and the bickering and haggling was ruinging the worship of the curious
The Businesses were taking advantage of the poor people who had walked miles and miles and Jesus was furious
The reputation of God was disrespected because as unbelievers come to meet Him they see a bunch of greedy religious people ripping people off.
The money exchangers are makeing a ridiculous profit by exchanging foreign currency so people can pay the temple tax in the Jewish currency
Jesus is a Preacher and Teacher
He taught for free to anyone wh wanted to hear him
The crowd hung on his every word
Jesus has all Authority
He preached unlike any other teacher He spoke with Authority
The religious people are pissed that their monetary scams and power is being challenged so they come out to undercut Him
They meet and come out with a question designed to humiliate him publicly
Jesus comes against the question prepared by the religious super committee for days and on the spot in a second he owns them publicly
+They are left on the horns of a dilemma either piss off the crowd by saying John was opposed to God or become Christians
Jesus' life fulfills the requirements of the the Temple
Jesus is the Greater Temple
The presense of God is Jesus, his death fulfilled the sacrificial atonoment that the Temple performed
The center of Life and Worship is Jesus, so we don't need a place
The Temple acted as a mediation, but Jesus is the greater mediator
+Today the wailing wall or underground wall are meaningless because drawing near to Jesus anywhere is the closest we can be in this life to God
Jesus is the greater sacrifice, the lambs killed at the Temple are now meaningless because Jesus the infite God was punished infinitely paying back all my sin debt to God the Father
Jesus Christ is Lord, King, and Savior
Ballard Campus 6-26-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll
Tags: Wedding, Funeral, Prophesy
Luke 19:28-44
Jesus Christ is Lord, King, and Savior
Kids are innately desiring of being a prince or a princess/queen
Then they graduate to loving a wedding
The biggest moment for the bride is when the doors open and she sees the groom and knows he is there for her
The Brits were really into the royal wedding
+18million watched on the internet, 40 million on TV, 500,000 on the street
The Story fo theBible is that Jesus the prince of peace came to take a bride for himself
The entry of Jesus to Jerusalem as a prince riding in his processional to claim his bride
The day when the wedding finally happens is coming and the World will erupt in joy
Jesus Christ is Lord
Jesus says get the colt and say the LORD needs it
This procession is on the eve of the big holiday of Passover
Jesus chooses a lowly pack animal as his royal entry vehicle
The King of Kings rides into town on a beater Kia
He continually chose humility when he could have used his infinite power to live a life of grandeur and wealth and comfort, yet he rides a Kia
Jesus calling himself Lord was treason against Rome
Jesus calling himself Lord would be blasphemy to the Jews, He is saying "I am God" and he got kiled for that statement
Prophesy
Zacheriah 9 said that Jesus' entry will be at Jerusalem and there will be shouting even though he rides a colt the foul of a donkey in humility
The crowd knew this verse well and then they see Jesus and they flip out
The feeling of the crowd was like a bride who had been promised a husband and waited and waited and loses hope, then one day she meets him and walks toward her and she knows, "Oh here he is!"
+This is the feeling in Jerusalem they see it and the very stones of the city is ready to sing out
This is why we love weddings, processionals, why little girls like t dress up for a wedding, it's an echo of the Gospel.
Jesus Christ is King
At this time Jesus has ministered in more than 35 locations and here he comes into the city
Jesus is soo poor that he doesn't even have a saddle so his disciples offer they coats
+This is huge generosity
+Most folks only had one cloak and they need it, yet they are generous
The disciples go first by raising up Jesus and exalt him, then other people join in and praise Jesus
+Would I throw my most important possesion on the ground for Jesus to trample in worship?
Jesus' red carpetentry is one the coats of the poor giving they most vital possesion to worship God
David, a loved king, he rode a lowly donkey around his kingdom showing he was a humble king
+Later other kings rode more regal animals fit for a king and Jesus shows up back on a donkey's colt
Psalm 118 - a Psalm sung for a King riding out to kill the enemies of Israel "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"
+This song is the same one that was sung as the King goes out to war
+this is fitting because Jesus is coming to wage war and conquer our enemies of Satan, Sin, Death, and to bear the wrath of God
Peace in heaven means that Jesus actually brings peace with God
+Before this time God was at war and we had no peace with God
+Only in Jesus will the wrath passover me because it would be unjust to punish both me and Jesus
The People want Peace and so they sing to the only one who can bring it
There are two Kings, two Kingdoms, two color Black and White.
+Jesus will deal justly with his enemies
The crowd is rejoicing because God is bringing Peace between Man and God
+Appart from Jesus that peace is not possible, without Jesus to show up and reconcil there will be eternal consequence for the rejection of God
Mars Hill Church
Do we get really excited about Jesus like at a concert and sporting event?
All of creation was made to worship Jesus, and it is yearning to cry out in worship to it's creator
Charismatic - The responce to the wedding monent of Knowing Jesus is loving "Jesus loves me unconditionally" Yeah!!
Mars Hill & Me - More of a funeral Chirstian "Oh I killed God" Oh Shit!
Mars is just a bunch of People gathered around Jesus rejoicing around how awesome he is
Jesus Christ is Savior
All of a Christian life is a series of weddings and Funerals
Jesus weeps over his City of Jerusalem who is blind to its only hope and misses the precious moment
People closed their eyes spiritually speaking
Real men don't cry except for what breaks the heart of God
It's only recorded three times where Jesus wept
1 - His buddies funeral, Lazarus
2 - Over Jerusalem
3 - In the garden before his dies
While the crowd enjoys a wedding moment, Jesus weeps because the people are missing the moment and that the City will be judged in destruction
It's a lot easier to criticize how people worship than to worship
Investing for Jesus
Ballard Campus 6-19-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll
Tags: Parable, Stewardship, Money,
Luke 19:11-27
Investing for Jesus
This parable is more of a kingly sermon, this reveals more of the administrative care of Jesus
Jesus is about 7 days from his Crucifixion and 7 weeks from his entering of Heaven as exalted King on the throne
Before he assumes the throne, he needs to go away
But when he returns he will bring his Kingdom and slaughter those who have set themselves against him
Parable
There is a king in waiting who is loved by some but hated by others who travels far away leaving some stewards behind
The stewards are waiting for the King to return but busy taking care of the country until he comes back
We are in the same place in history as these stewards; we are waiting for our King to return and in the mean time we are taking care of his resources.
King Jesus will come back and will review how we have stewarded all of his resources
A trueism from Jesus - we all start humbly with very little but as we prove ourselves faithful with little things we are given more responsibility, this is the same in business, in minstry, and in other areas
The Kingdom Coming
This is a hint of a new World purified and restored to a status as God originally intended. There are cities, many people, culture, art, singing, joy, all existing as a physical reality.
There will be a similarity in our bodies but they will be made incorruptible
There will be the overwhelming presence Jesus
There will be rulers over the cities in the Kingdom Come
+There wil be culture and singing and joy in a perfected world filled with worshippers of Jesus
+Jesus wants us to aspire to humble leadership with kingdom compassion
Jesus wants us to aspire to greatness but in humility
The Second guy, a Good return on investment
This man recieves a corresponding reward in proportion to the results of his investment
Jesus is talking about a man receiving the appropriate reward for his results in this life
Jesus is showing us a fantastic example of what it looks like to live invested well
In Durbin South African PM met strong aggressive men who "want their life to count for God"
Piper says, "Don't waste your life"
The Third guy, No return on investment
Takes no responsibility, he blames the investor for being to scarry
Calls the King a severe man
Sin can be not doing anything at all - Omission
Jesus rebukes this guy with his own words
Do I have my Christian life wrapped in a handkerchief not earning any investment?
+I think I am wasting my life. I give my time and money, but I'm not really changing anything and impacting my community for Jesus
The Goal is to be faithful and get started the long you wait to get started the worse it is.
The Bible tells us that we have a killer inheritance from Jesus so we've got to use it.
+We have knowledge, eternal salvation, a big brother who came to die for us, a relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit...
The Reaction
"That's not fair!" the one guy who was a phenomenal steward gets the llittle from the one who did nothing with his mina
Jesus is not a complete socialist who says we should all have the same amount
The more faithful effective stewards should be allocated more resources so that they can get stuff done.
Jesus says the more faithful righteous guys should be intrusted with more resources
What is Jesus Like?
He is like a serious investor, he puts resources into the hands of the folks, ministries, families, and organizations that are good stewards.
If you waste or do nothing
The Truth about Jesus
The citizen are cared for by Jesus in the proportion of how they stewarded his resources
The enemies, Yes Jesus has enemies, are all "slaughtered"
Not everyone will go to heaven
Revelation says there will be blood 4 feet high for 200 miles in all directions from all the dead that Jesus will slay on the day of Armegedon, "as high as a horse's bridle" (Maybe 3-4 feet)
+1.3 gallons of blood for the average adult
+200miles = 5280ft X 200 = 1056000ft => pi X 1056000^2 X 4ft = 14006108160000cuft volume of blood shed
+1 gallons is 0.133680556cuft
+1.3 gallons = 0.1737847228cuft
+So...
+14006108160000cuft / 0.1737847228cuft =
+Jesus slaughters 805,950,360,557 people? Hmm...Maybe my math is wrong...I did go to public school
Jesus' enemies couldn't be happy in His kingdom so why would they want to spend all eternity with him?
There was a season in the parable where the enemies were invited by the stewards to become friends, this is just like this brief period between the times where we find ourselves
Hell, like heaven, has various degrees of consequence for how God's gift of life was used.
Jesus is not an unjust king but he is an immensely generous king who provides a way to serve
Our life will be judged at the end
Investing for Jesus in Mars Hill Church
In 15 years...
10 up to 10,000 people
2 up to 1246 baptisms
1 up to 10 locations
52 up to 1500 services
$90k up to $15.25Million
0 churches up to 400 planted US churches and 13 nations with more churches
+500 potential new church Planters being assessed
For Easter the Combined easter attendance was 175,000 people @ Easter
from a few hundred downloads up to 7 million sermon downloads
Portland, Rainier, and Orange County are new campuses
Mars Hill want to hear well done good servant when Jesus looks over his ledgers at the end
Investing for Jesus in your life
1 - Which Faithful servants have I benefited from? Bernadyne, Mars Hill RGs, Facility Leaders, etc
2 - Do I understand the judgement of believers vs unbelievers? White Throne Vs. the Cross
3 - If Jesus came right now would he be pleased with my stewardship?
4 - Do I want to hear well done good servant? Do I labor for Jesus' approval and favor?
5 - What changes do I need to make?
Jesus cares about results
Jesus and Zacchaeus
Ballard Campus 6-12-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll
Tags: Prosperity Theology, Hard Heart, Repentance
Luke 19:1-10
Jesus and Zacchaeus
Men prefer money and power because comfort, security are desired more than God
Bernie Madof is our generation's example of Zacchaeus
Who is Zacchaeus
The Chief of the tax collectors => power and authority
The head of the tax collectors recieved a cut of what all the other tax collectors extort in addition to what he himself can extort
Jesus Called Zacchaeus
Jesus knows Zacc by name
Jesus asks to urgently stay at his house
Jesus is asking to be a friend of Z
God is inviting his enemies to be his friend
What would your response have been
Who would I grumbled about if Jesus saved them?
The crowd is frustrated that there will not be any justice for all the sins that atrocities he has perpetrated
Repentance + Restitution = Rejoicing
Z says Jesus is Lord acknowledging that his is now a Christian
Z openly says I am a sinner and Jesus is Lord who is my only hope
The new Christian nature desires to repay all the people I've sinned against
The community feels the ripple effect resulting from Jesus and the joy that Z shares
Z just met the most generous person who has ever lived, he is practicing discipleship by becoming like his teacher
Jesus loves and saves the rich and the poor, and in the kingdom both can image their savior
Prosperity & Poverty Theology
The Prosperity theology folks emphasize the wealth Christians
The Poverty theology folks emphasize the poor Christians
The four states of humanity: Righteous/Unrighteous Rich, Righteous/Unrighteous Poor
In the grace of God people can change and be like Z who became the Bishop of Caesarea
Repentance + Restitution = Rejoicing
What have I taken that I need to repay?
How have I defrauded nd what should I pay?
When have I been lazy and what does change look like?
Who have I neglected and what does restitution require?
Which Sinner have I not called out to but only grumbled about?
What joys have you stoen and need to repay?
What sins have you tolerated and what does repentance look like?
Have I been greedy and
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