Jet lag after the Japan trip was intense. Having the whole family go through it really threw our home into chaos. Then we were hit with the holidays. Which are great of course but require lots of extra time commitments. So its been a while since I last posted.
Here at least are my sermon notes for part one of "Accelerate - Advancing God's Kingdom in Our Lives." Its the January series for New Day Community Church, Kalamazoo. I introduced it last week, but this message is really the first part of the series. Hope you are blessed by this!
Accelerate – Advancing the Kingdom
of God in OUR Lives
- A series about understanding what WE (individually and as a church) are called to
- How to see it happen, and how to Accelerate, speed up, the things of the Kingdom!!!
Last Week we looked at Christ's Command
- Matthew 6:33 NKJV But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
- Jesus clearly told His followers what their priorities should be based upon
Hebrews
11:6 NKJV
But without faith it
is
impossible to please Him,
for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that
He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
- “Diligently seek” = to search out, that is, (figuratively) investigate, crave, demand, ... worship: - en- (re-) quire, seek after (carefully, diligently).
- A form of the same word that Jesus used.
- Not a passive acceptance
- But a passionate pursuit
- Faith is a gift
- Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
- This is undisputed. Nothing we could ever do could atone for sin – our ability to accept forgiveness because of the death of Jesus on the Cross, having faith and believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is a gift.
- But an overemphasis on what God has done can lead to an underemphasis on what God calls us to do.
- Actually it is a misunderstanding of the result, or outcome of what God's done
- God's free gift doesn't just bring us out of sin – it brings us INTO His Kingdom
- Colossians 1:13-14 NKJV (13) He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, (14) in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
- And look at the next verse in Ephesians 2:10 NKJV For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
- Grace and faith doesn't exempt us from doing things
- It means that our works are the fruit, the outcome, of what God has done, the response to being in right relationship
- Not a means to right relationship, or a way of earning God's favor – but the result of being in God's favor.
- It's KINGDOM living
- Heb. 11:6 Defines faith with three key things:
- “must believe that He is”
- Simply -- you must believe in the existence of God. Not merely that there is a God out there somewhere – but the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God Jesus revealed.
- “He is a rewarder”
- Wow. This is an integral aspect of faith.
- God is a rewarder – he gives out prizes!!!
- If you believe in God, but you believe He is only a “punisher” you don't have genuine faith – or your faith is lacking.
- This verse says FAITH = believing God is a Giver
- “ those who diligently seek Him”
- The GIFT of faith, Biblical faith, has in it a hunger, a craving, a demanding, a passionate pursuit after God and His Kingdom.
- You have that hunger... or you would not be here. Stir it up, cultivate it, feed it, and sharpen it. That's what this series is about!
There
are Things we can do to ACCELERATE the Kingdom in OUR lives
First:
Believe that it is possible, even our responsibility to hasten the
day...
2
Peter 3:10-14 NKJV
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which
the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will
melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it
will be burned up. (11)
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of
persons
ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (12)
looking
for and hastening
the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be
dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent
heat? (13)
Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and
a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (14)
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be
diligent
to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
Peter
asks a question. In the NIV, it reads like this:
2Pet
3:11NIV
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people
ought you to be?
- His answer is:
- You ought to live holy and godly lives
- (verse 12) as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
- “Looking for and hastening” NKJV, literally means living in anticipation of, and “to speed” or “urge on.” the coming of the day of the Lord.
- “Be diligent” in verse 14 is a different word than that we read of earlier in Hebrews.
- Here is literally means, “to use speed”
- to hasten, make haste, to exert one’s self, endeavor,
- The Bible challenges us to live expectant of, and in preparation for, the Lord's return
- That we can actually “SPEED UP” the manifestation of Christ's return
- I believe that this works two ways:
- This refers the the “Now and Not Yet” nature of God's Kingdom
- We can speed up His Kingdom NOW, in our present life
- We can see Christ salvation, His healing power, His freedom from sin and the curse, His power to transform people, families, communities, nations – NOW!!
- It also means that we can make quicken His final return – when He comes to rule and reign and puts an end to all suffering and sin and pain.
- Matthew 6:10 NKJV Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
- Jesus told us to pray this
- This is not a prayer that confesses passive acceptance
- It is a command for fulfillment – a calling out, intercession for God's Kingdom to come
- When we pray the next line, “Give us this day our daily bread” we don't want or expect that to be fulfilled in some figurative sense – we are asking for food.
- Likewise when we pray for Kingdom Come; Will Be Done – we should expect to see it, touch it, experience it.
- This applies to each of us as individuals
- And to New Day as a church – and to the church world-wide.
Secondly:
Know the Season
- Just as there are seasons in nature, there are seasons in life, and in the dealing of God
- Know, be aware of the season
- In your life, in the life of those around you
- In the church, in your community and the world.
- Seasons Natural seasons point toward spiritual seasons in our lives
- Matthew 16:3 NKJV and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
- God can change the season
- Jesus was able to change the natural weather, when He calmed the storm
- You can change the season
- John 14:12 NKJV "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; & greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
- Last Feb. in the worst winter storm of the year, Kathie and I changed season... we sat down, waited a few hours, and stepped out into 80 degree weather
- We just had to change our position
- Likewise, you can change your season OFTEN/NOT ALWAYS by making a change in or to yourself – you don't have to fly to Cancun – but you have to change
- Romans 13:11-14 NKJV And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. (12) The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. (13) Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. (14) But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
- “It is high time to awake out of sleep”
- Romans 13:11 NLT This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
- Now is the time...
- 2 Corinthians 6:2 NKJV For He says: "IN AN ACCEPTABLE TIME I HAVE HEARD YOU, AND IN THE DAY OF SALVATION I HAVE HELPED YOU." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
To
accelerate the Kingdom of God in OUR lives we must:
- Believe it is possible
- Accept that is is our responsibility
- Know the that NOW is the time!
No comments:
Post a Comment