Bible Study - Matthew 7

Read Matthew 7


- Don't judge others before considering your own flaws.
What area(s) of your own life do you need to critique?
- God can't help you unless you reach out to Him and recognize what He has already done for you. So He likes it when you look for Him, and He will answer.
Where are you not reaching to God, and abandoning your life to Him?
- You have freedom of choice, not freedom of circumstance.
- God knows the consequence for every option you face. But the choice is yours.
Which path will you chose? Weigh your options before you make a choice.
- Also, be wise in who you confide. Many will come to you claiming to be pure of heart, and good tidings. But look at what kind of fruit they yield.
Do you have good, Christian, believers to confide in?
- Act upon the words of Jesus, and you will prosper. But do nothing with His teachings and your works will be washed away.
 Do you apply God's words to your life?

Worship - With All I Am

Notes - Sunday, May 25th

• You have freedom of choice, not freedom of circumstance.
• As a person thinks in his heart, so is he.
• There will be no outward change in behavior until there is an inward change in thinking. 
• Jesus came to live in your heart not your head.

Deuteronomy 7:7-9 , Deuteronomy 30:19-20

• We chose
• God's way or the World's way.
• God choses 
• He knows the consequences to both blessings and curses.
• The fact that you are living declares that He loves you and that you were created for His purpose.

Matthew 7:13-14

• 2 choices in life; hard or easy (blessings or curses)
• If this is the good life why aren't we happy?
• Before you commit yourself to something ask; "How happy are the people who have already committed themselves to this thing?"
• You can't go into what God made you to be until you sacrifice everything to Him.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference. 

~ Robert Frost ~

Bible Study - Matthew 6

Read Matthew 6

The resounding message in this chapter is DON'T SHOW OFF,  BE HUMBLE!!
Don't tell the world of your most recent donation to charity.
Don't pray as a braggart where all can see.
Don't show the world that you are fasting.
Don't store your goods on earth.
Don't worry about earthly things.

So I will leave you with this:
Be humble in everything you do, and remember that your success is just a platform for you to show God to the world on. Be confident in who God has made you to be, and humble in His success because of it.

Bible Study - Matthew 5

Read Matthew 5

There are so many different points that I could make here. But I will keep it simple. Our natural reaction
when someone insults us, or asks something of us, is to push back or ask for something back. I caught myself doing this just yesterday. But Jesus tells us to give more than what was asked of us. Jesus tells us that when someone is mistreated, we are to help them up. When someone is rejected we are to accept them. And all these things we are to do in love.

Eye for Eye

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Love for Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

We are here to create a culture of honor, and respect. We are here to be the body of Christ. And Christ is God; 

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
We are here to be love to those without love. To show them that they have worth, and that someone cares.
Do Something: Show someone love and respect when the world says they don't deserve it. Encourage those around you find their identity in Christ, not things of this world.

Notes - Wednesday, May 14th

Freedom: you have to admit that you are hurting for Jesus to be able to help you. Otherwise you will keep pushing Him away, and try to fix things yourself.

The Prodigal Son (Read)
We have two ways we can relate to God. As a slave or as a child. God will always see us as His children, but it lies with us to decide if we accept that or not.

Galatians 4:4-9 (Read)
Romans 8:16-17 (Read)
God wants you to relate to Him as your father.
Submission as a slave is submission through fear, but submission as a child is submission through love.
A child's worth never goes down, but the value of a slave fluctuates, and is based on performance.
God doesn't come to you because you deserve it, He comes to you because He loves you.
"Your worth is found in the eyes of God, and the eyes of God alone"
Don't talk yourself out of the freedom God has for you.
He's not interested in what you can do for Him.
What we do for God is an overflow of sonship.

Where do you find your worth?

Worship - Forever

Bible Study - Matthew 4

Read Matthew 4

I think that sometimes we underestimate the sacrifice that goes in to being a follower of Christ. We see here that the disciples left their jobs, families, and lives, but do we really understand what that means? Today, we don't understand what it means to be separated from someone for pretty much any length of time. With all our technology, a week feels like an eternity to not talk with someone. In the Bible days, they didn't have any of this. The only form of communication was through letters, and sometimes, not even that. It was a big deal to leave home, and follow Jesus. And these men did it with everything to lose. But because our God is good, they didn't lose anything. Instead, they gained everything.

You see following God means completely letting go of your current life, and turning to His ways. Never once looking back to how life once was. Never once being tempted by the Devil. And always conquering through Christ.

Bible Study - Matthew 3

Read Matthew 3

The word repent, as defined today means to:

"feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin."

However, this is not the way it is used in the Bible. When John the Baptist says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” He does not mean show regret! He means change the way you think about how you live. Change the way you view your situation, because God is coming, and He want's to be able to relate to you.

Do you ever wonder if God hears your prayer? Wonder if He will ever do anything about it? Well, He does, and He will, we just need to learn how to ask the right question. You know how when you go to a different country, or place, even if they speak the same language, you can't really communicate with people all that well until you understand the culture? Well it's much the same way with God. You can ask Him questions all day long, and not get any answers or response. Not because He is not listening, but because He does not understand the nature of your questions. 

You see, God speaks in the culture of heaven. The culture there is a culture of love and honor. Not of self worth and advancement. So often our prayers are focussed on ourselves, and our own worth, when they should really be about what God wants, and how to honor others.

When we repent, and change our way of thinking, we gain access to God, and the plans He has for us.

Bible Study - Matthew 2

Read Matthew 2

God already has a plan for your life. And it's a darn good one, too! Because Joseph trusted God, and listened to him, God's plans for Joseph, Mary, and Jesus' life were fulfilled. 

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" - Jeremiah 29:11

God is not going to tell you anything that will harm you. It may hurt at the time, and you may not understand it, but God is always working for your future.

I have a friend who shared his testimony with me the other day and it goes something like this:

"God gave me a job that payed less than my last one, working once a week, so that I can go to Ecuador and minister this summer. And my wife, her dream is to be a nurse, but God has given her a job in a daycare. Where her co-workers pray for her trip to Ecuador, and offer support. I didn't understand it at first, but now I see that even though I may not be completely comfortable now, He has put me in a position to do what I really want to do; love."