“How do I give when I am broke?”

“SEEDS OF GRACE”

James 1:17-18 (ESV) - ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Intro: Giving is motivated by love but carried out through grace.

Romans 5:7-9 (ESV) - ⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Grace: Undeserved Favor

1.  Grace is cyclical, Grace is not meant to be held on to.

Matthew 18:21-35 (NIV) -  ²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. ²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ ³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. ³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

2.  Grace that’s horded will spoil.

Exodus 16:11-21 (ESV) -  ¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses,¹² “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

¹³ In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. ¹⁴ And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” ¹⁷ And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. ¹⁸ But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. ¹⁹ And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” ²⁰ But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. ²¹ Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

a.  Grumbling is a sign of distrust.

b.  Grace can be a test.

Conclusion: Living now GRACE (L.N.G).

James 4:13-17 (ESV) - Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—¹⁴ yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

HOW CAN I BEGIN TO PLANT SEEDS OF GRACE?

A. Financially: I need to get the ball rolling.

James 1:9-12 (NLT) - ⁹ Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. ¹⁰ And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. ¹¹ The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.

¹² God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

B. Physically: I need to seek peace with others.

James 3:13-18 (NIV) - Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

C. Spiritually: I need to draw near to God.

James 4:1-8 (ESV) - What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions^[a] are at war within you?^[b] 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴ You adulterous people!^[c] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? ⁶ But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” ⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

“How do I know if I am maturing?”

Hebrews 6:1 (TLB) - Let us stop going over the same old ground again and again…Let us go on instead to other things and become mature…

What is maturity? 

Introduction:  What maturity is NOT…Maturity is not age, appearance, and has nothing to do achievement or academics.

1.    Maturity begins with awareness.

Psalm 26:2-4 (NLT) - ² Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. ³ For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth. ⁴ I do not spend time with liars or go along with hypocrites.

2. Maturity is sensitive to others.

James 2:8 (NIV) - If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (CEV) - What if I could speak all languages of humans and of angels? If I did not love others, I would be nothing more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² What if I could prophesy and understand all secrets and all knowledge? And what if I had faith that moved mountains? I would be nothing, unless I loved others. ³ What if I gave away all that I owned and let myself be burned alive? I would gain nothing, unless I loved others.

3. Maturity masters its own mouth.

James 3:2 (TEV) - All of us often make mistakes. But if a person never makes a mistake in what he says, he is perfect and is also able to control his whole being.

Ephesians 4:29 - Do not use any harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will build up and encourage those who hear you.

James 1:26 (TEV) - Do any of you think you are religious? If you do not control your tongue, your religion is worthless and you deceive yourself.

4. Maturity makes peace, not trouble.

James 4:1 (ICB) - Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that make war inside you.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 - My friends, you are acting like the people of this world. Your behavior is so immature that I could not speak to you as spiritual people. You are like babies as far as your faith in Christ is concerned. ² So I had to treat you like babies and feed you milk. You could not take solid food, and you still cannot, ³ because you are not yet spiritually mature. You are jealous and argue with each other. This proves that you are not spiritually mature and that you are acting like the people of this world.

5. Maturity finds purpose in its problems.

Romans 8:28 (NLT2) - And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

James 1:22-25 (NLT2) - But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. ²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. ²⁵ But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

6. Maturity has learned to praise God despite its problems.

James 1:2-3 (NIV) - Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT2) - Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Psalm 34:1 (NLT2) - I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.

7. Maturity is patient and prayerful.

James 5:7-11 (NLT2) - Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. ⁸ You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. ⁹ Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰ For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy….¹⁶ Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

James 1:5 (NLT2) - If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you…

James 1:6 (NIV) - But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

James 1:12 (NLT2) - God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Not just another New Year’s Resolution

“How to avoid taking one step forward and two steps back in 2019”

Ephesians 4:1-2 (MSG) - In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere…

Intro: The key to forward growth is UNITY.

(The reason you can’t move forward is that there are multiple forces pulling against you.

Ephesians 4:2-3 (ESV)  - ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

A.  I can’t practice unity if I don’t seek the oneness of God.

Ephesians 4:2-3 (ESV) -  ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 

B.  I can’t experience oneness with God without addressing my own brokenness and divisiveness.

Ephesians 4:20-24 (MSG) - ^20-24 But (THAT OLD BROKEN LIFE) that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

2. The struggle forward is rewarded when we are completely humble.

Ephesians 4:2-3 (NIV) - ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

A.  Humbly submit to others.

Ephesians 4:20-21 (NIV) - always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.²¹ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

B.  Experience the freedom in obedience.

Ephesians 4:30- 5:2 (NIV) - And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 5 ¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Conclusion: I must take responsibility for my own spiritual growth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 (ESV) - ¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Philippians 2:1-11 (NIV) - Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

How can I keep from overlooking the needs of the ones I love?

Loving Like Jesus in a broken world, Part 2

by Jason Hight

Introduction: Open the eyes of your Heart, who am I overlooking?

1 Corinthians 10:24 (NCV) - Do not look out only for yourselves. Look out for the good of others also.

Philippians 2:4 (NCV) - Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others.

Heart Check #1 – Stop: What is the speed of your heart? Do I need to slow my pace?

Mark 7:17 (NLT) - Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, …

Heart Check #2 – Rewind: How stressed is your heart? Who are you helping and who are you hurting?

Luke 21:34 (NIV) - ³⁴ “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.

Psalm 34:18 (MSG) - If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.

Heart Check # 3 – Contemplate: Based on the answers above, do I need to reset, renew, or repent?

Psalm 139:23-24 (ESV) - ²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! ²⁴ And see if there be any grievous way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting!

Conclusion: The Heartbeat of Jesus

          First: Pray for your own strength.

John 17:1-5 (ESV) - When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, ² since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴ I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

          Second: Pray for those to whom you are directly responsible.

John 17:6-19 (ESV) - ⁶ “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. ⁸ For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹ I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹ And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

          Third: Pray for those who will one day believe.

John 17:20-26 (ESV) - ²⁰ “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Don't be a tool (of Satan). “Being controlled by the world vs being used by God”

Pastor Jason Hight, July 15-16, 2018

Why do I feel so powerless?

I.            Arrogance

a.  The Lie: When you think you more special than you are.

Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV) - ¹³ For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

b.  The Truth: You are unique to an extent, but not special.

II.          Prejudice

a.  The Lie: When you think what makes you different makes you unique.

Romans 12:3 (NIV) - For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

b.  The Truth: You are different to an extent, but not unique.

III.       Narcissism

a.  The Lie: When you become someone you are not so that you will be loved.

Luke 22:57-59 New International Version (NIV)⁵⁷ But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.⁵⁸ A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied.⁵⁹ About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”

b.  The Truth: God loves you how he made you.

Genesis 4:7 (MSG)- ^6-7 God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well (and what you were designed to do), won’t you be accepted (loved)? And if

The Power of Becoming Yourself in Christ.

I.            My true self is hidden in Christ.

Matthew 16:24-26 (MSG) - Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?

II.          My true self can only exist in Christ.

Acts 17:27b-28a (ESV) – …(God) is actually not far from each one of us, ²⁸ for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’

1 Corinthians 15:22 (ESV) - ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

III.        My purpose in life can never be realized outside of Christ. 

Colossians 1:17-18 (MSG) - ^15-18 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

Conclusion: My identity in Christ is never Static!

        A. It Grows

        B. It Creates

        C. It Collaborates