Sunday, June 30, 2013

He is Truth

Ephesians 4:20-24
20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self,[a] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.


Jesus Christ is
     the way of truth
     the hope of truth
     the light of truth
     the investment of truth
     the dividend of truth
     the glory of truth
     the beauty of truth
     the mercy and justice of truth
     the seed of truth that
                       becomes the tree of truth
                                              bearing the fruit of truth
When you stand at the throne of God
                 you are overcome by the majesty of truth
Your physical body can't handle the truth
                but being changed of God you are the truth to a lost world.
Self my friends is not the truth
the passions of the flesh -not the truth
He bought you with a price
you are a redeemed people of the Prince of Truth

The truth is selfless you are not your own
     Love is the truth
     Joy is the truth
     Peace is truth
     Patience and kindness -truth
     go in gentleness and self control
         walk in truth, teach the truth
         carry the banner of truth
         feed on truth, delight in truth
         and worship in truth
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Way the Truth and the Life  --> Rejoice in Him!

We are His

     We are the people of God Purchased by the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We, coming from a narcissistic culture can have our religion if we keep it quietly at home and in our assemblies. But this salvation is not about self, its not about you. Salvation has come to your house for you, your children all you know. This light has been given to you not to be put under a basket but to put on the lamp stand of your life.
    Narcissism and immaturity are sister harlots who worship emotion at the altar of darkness; they reject biblical manhood and womanhood instead delighting in the deeds of the flesh.
     We as the people of God are compelled to stand for truth to protect life and defend virtue. We do this in ourselves and in our homes, but if we neglect culture; then the culture you live in will not have truth, love life or have virtue.
     Speaking the truth in love means to speak it self-sacrificially to the service of others.
We are a people of truth and virtue but it is not our own, it is that of Christ; walk in His righteousness or be naked.
     If you are an American then your tax money has purchased murder-abortion and robbery. God loves Justice so repent and confess these sins and then confront them with all humility; being ready to live and die for our liberty in Christ.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Motherhood-Eternal Influence





In many ways our culture is at war. One of the most pressing is in the area of motherhood and femininity. It is just about a crime in pop culture to be a young pure woman who delights in it and the idea of raising a family. Even in Christian circles we get waylaid by folks who think it is paramount for a young lady to put personal goals, degrees, ministry and money before marriage and children; the big fear is that she will not be fulfilled and or happy. I just can’t help but say so what, and you may be offended but let’s take a closer look at the terms that define our existence and that precious Savior and redeemer of our souls. If we look at life without drinking deep from the fountains of truth we will stand as poisoned servants of ignorance unable to defend virtue!

1. God created man  (male and female)
     a. The fall (the lust of the eyes ,the lust of the flesh and the pride of life)
        i. The curse on the flesh Roman 6 “slave to sin”
          1.The Flesh
             i.Immaturity / living a self-absorbed life.
             ii.A narcissistic culture – everything is about me
                1.What I like –eyes
                2.What I want-flesh
                3. How I feel-pride of life
            iii.Leads to injustice, hate , shedding of innocent blood, evil tongue
     b. Child centeredness
        i. Child is the center of attention for good or bad
           1.Should be Christ alone
           2.It’s really a form of Idolatry

2. Feminism –asks the wrong questions – unsatisfied  - wrong conclusion
     i. Because our roles are not the same then the women’s is of lesser value.
     ii. The focus is on how I feel and what I want; not what has God said.
     iii.  Thinking I don’t need men when they mean; I don’t need God
            a. Primary motives- self
                 i.Me myself and I
                 ii.Leeds to abortion
“No woman can call herself free who does not control her own body.”― Margaret Sanger
                     1.Heart of irresponsible selfish immaturity
                     2.Shedding of innocent blood
                          a. God destroys nations for 3 thing
                              i.  Sexual decadence -Sodom and Gomorrah
                              ii. Witchcraft
                              iii Shedding of innocent blood
                      3.  America has killed so many babies that it becomes hypocritical to celebrate any day that exalts parenting.
                           a.You think its ok to control your reproductive body- that is the same logic the   abortionists use.
                           b.Effects on men – as a culture becomes more feminist it relies more on Emotion to the neglect of truth
                             i.Effeminacy-men being led or controlled by emotion
                                   1.Isaiah 3:12 My people—infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.
                             ii.Tends to paralyze
                                1. Seen as a bully/monster
                                    a.Should protect ladies not fight them, were  fighting ideas not people
                                2. Seen as selfishly protecting our authority
                                   a.Not ours, Gods. Obeying his positional assignment
                                   b.Men can be painted into an emotional corner
3.How we stumble in the church
       a. Pietism-a cultural fenomenum wherein we as the church focus on self with a gnostic emphasis so that the culture at large is unaffected and unaware of us as the people of God.
       b. Emotionalism-With language like having peace and following the spirit. Being led by emotion more than Gods clear word.
       c.The heart and the tongue- We are born and come at life with a specifically selfish /narcissistic motivational attitude. We are on the throne of our heart and everything must serve that.
Matthew 15:11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits
 James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

          i.What is your primary operating principle when dealing with conflict? Parenting is conflict resolution.
             1. Is it to win the argument
             2. Is it to be right
             3. Is it to get your point across
             4. To speak your mind
             5. To set them straight
             6. To convict them of sin
It should be to love them in such a selfless way that they would see the love of Christ. After all if you have people; you have problems.


         ii. A prostitute is known by her lack of shame,
               1. Jeremiah 3:3b yet you have the forehead of a whore; you refuse to be ashamed.
               2. Proverbs 30:20 this is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I have done no wrong.”
               3. Proverbs 14:1 Every wise woman builds her house: but the foolish plucks it down with her hands- she is not ashamed and believes she has done no wrong.
                    a.The raging fires of emotion can cause you to be Clawing and tearing the flesh from the bones of your family with bitterness, a critical spirit and a Sharpe tongue.
         iii. An unbridled tongue is like the nation destroying sin of shedding innocent blood within the walls of our homes, motivated by self and inflamed by emotions. Repent and be clean, confess and be restored. Do not continue in your idolatry it brings God’s fierce jealousy, you are not your own has he not purchased you with his BLOOD!  Jesus Christ alone is your righteousness!!

-->Oh Lord have I not home schooled and been a keeper of home, have I not submitted to my husband and my God, served with my chase dress makeup and children. Thank you for making me righteous in this land and not like those foolish and adulteress women of this world.
Your righteous acts are as filthy rags!  Christ and his imputed righteousness is all you have and all there is. There is no other hope for you!
             1Corinithians 1:30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
             Ecclesiastes 5:7 For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.
             The fear of God is not just shuttering  and being scared. It is a reference point for real and persistent action. Living in close relationship, always referring to Him.
             Its about fear, it harkens back to the curse. “her desire will be for her husband” why? She focuses on him and others for fulfillment; this is a long slide downward, failure after failure of others to meet our needs and desires. Finally turning to this religious self-righteous piety that our culture accepts, all the while serving our emotional idols in fear. Fear of what? a lack of fulfillment, fear of loss, fear of unmet expectations’ 
                  > Idolatry – Living in fear or desire of an object of reference.
                  > The best kinds of slaves believe they are free. The best free people know they are prone to slavery.
                     i. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love;
 
             What is critical to get is -->
              That if we live a polished on the outside Christian life it is not living and gives no life to others. We romanticize everything to emotional perfection. Happily ever after is not what you think; it is being broken over your sin; sometimes it is repenting for your anger even to your children. It’s letting in the reality of your life that needs to be washed and forgiven. We demand a constant line of confession and repentance from our kids; I hope we model it without pretense. If we do that; we will give them a living faith in God.



4.Substitutionary atonement (new relationship to God and man)
Who remembers the harlot caught in the very act- betrayed and entrapped alone and condemned? The Creator and sustainer looks on with tenderness and says “where are your accusers? Go and sin no more”.
                That’s us – satan drags us in as the accused and we are done for – Propitiatory substitutionary atonement-  and if that’s not enough he adds imputation.
     i. New life in the Spirit
1 peter 3:6 1Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

         1. Behold all things are become new
               a. We are one with Christ – wherever we go He is with us.
                     i. Romans 12:5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another
                     ii.Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
                     iii.Romans 5:5b God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.**
              b. Maturity
                  i.Romans 15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
                  ii.Put away self –self-denial, Put away the self-interest and petty selfishness
                  iii.Romans 14:20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.
 
        2.Just as Eve =”Chavvah”  life – Mothers you are life.
              a. 1 Corinithians 13:13
                    i. Faith –
                       1. God is sovereign
                       2. God is Good- gives good gifts
                            a. Law- The law of God is perfect converting the soul! Psalm 19:7
                            b. Protective authorities – Ministers of God to you for good. Romans 13:4
                            c. Supplies needs – I will supply all your need according to his riches in glory. Philippians  4:19
                    ii. Hope= speaking hope into someone gives life
                        1.Romans5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoiced in hope of the glory of God. 3More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
                       2.Seeing evidence (seeds) and picturing the fruit
                       3.The opposite of hope is a critical spirit- takes life away (discouragement)
                           a.Proverbs 10:28 The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.
                            b.This is an indicative so we know who the righteous are. If your tongue does not bring hope then? What’s in your heart? Hope is a royal robe from your husband.

                            c.Hope is relational
                                i. Builds-Faith and trust
                                ii.Breathes life into everyone
                                iii.Love- Selfless service of others
                                   1.This love chapter is filled with indicatives. Indicating what is true of you as you walk maturely in Christ.
                                    2.Love is patient love is kind it does not envy, does not boast. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth
                                    3.Walk in Spirit
                                         a.Fruit of the spirit
                                             i.Galatians 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law – indicatives here indicate a relationship  with Jesus.
                                         b.Fountain of living water
                                             i.Song of Solomon 4:15 garden fountain, a well of living water, and flowing streams from Lebanon.
                                                  1.A representation of God 
                                                      Jeremiah  2:13 They have abandoned me--the fountain of living water
                                             ii.James 3:11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?
                                                  1.Be consistent – even if it kills you
                                                  2.The animals don’t drink at the fowl well
5.The secret to the spirit filled life
        i.Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
        ii.John 6:54 Whosoever eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day – do you desire him
Your life is a ministry (specific service to almighty God)
Walk as children of the light  Obey God  Dominion mandate  Titus 2

So what’s the problem? The life of the flesh
                Sin entered the world through Adam
                The curse

So what’s the solution? The spirit filled life
     1. You are not your own
                Christ died that we might have life
                Your speech will be changed into - a well of life

             All our hope is in Jesus the Christ

Not in well-mannered children
                Not in vans or number of children
                Not in dresses or head coverings
                Not in churches or a stay at home attitude
                Not in home education or a rejection of dating
                Not in wisdom or piety
                Not in tithing, gift giving or hospitality
Enough with this Idolatry

             Our hope is a man the Lord Jesus Christ! And we are His bride.
 There is no other name written under heaven by which you must be saved. Acts 4:12
He is the way the truth and the life. John 14:6
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.  Revelation1:8

Motherhood-Eternal Influence
You are life and breath to the home, the fountain of healing, being clothed in humility you are most beautiful. Mother you are the fragrance of spice and color that thrills the senses. From you springs the life of future generations, your spiritual and emotional strength rewards everything it touches with hope and rest. This is what God has done. B.A.Worel

Flesh=cutting tongue =innocent blood= death
Spirit=words of encouragement=instilling hope=life
Only a woman can carry in her body an eternal being which bears the very image of God. Only she is the recipient of the miracle of life. Only a woman can conceive and nurture this life using her own flesh and blood, and then deliver a living soul into the world. God has bestowed upon her alone a genuine miracle — the creation of life, and the fusing of an eternal soul with mortal flesh. This fact alone establishes the glory of motherhood.  Douglas Phillips


Christianity

     A relationship with God as sons and daughters because of the finished work of Jesus. Where we love him who first loved us. Being broken by so great a love for sinners that we become new in him; Following him because of his glory and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Joyfully participating in the work of sanctification where God puts to death the flesh and increases the spirit. Christ being our righteousness, our agony turns to joy in the glory of him.
     God is creating these mature disciples to follow his plans faithfully. Our joy is the journey where the outcome is the Lords.
     Gratefulness is the fuel that drives us on in the face of such tender affection; we are are undone and yet complete.
B.A.Worel