1. It starts with private preparation
2. Then moves to a public invitation
3. And then the promised demonstration of the Holy Spirit.
As I was planning this series, I knew that we had to change our thinking. And so the very first week we focused on taking our thoughts captive, and forcing them to come under the authority of Jesus Christ.
The second week of this series, we looked at how Queen Esther moved from a victim mindset, to a VICTOR. How she asked for help, fasted and prayed, and used wisdom in her situation to be a solution in her world of problems.
The third week of this series, we looked at how sometimes God asks us to sacrifice...and that even a little bit of obedience, in the hands of God, can be a solution for so many, from the story of Hannah & Samuel.
Last week, we looked at how David, by the power of the Holy Spirit, was able to say, “I’ll Go!” even when everyone else was shaking in their boots. He was a solution for his people--and we have access to that same Holy Spirit.
And although I do feel a stirring in my heart toward our next series, which will start in June, and I’m really excited about--I also just felt like I’m not quite done here…
We’ve been doing a Bible Plan together as a church over the past 40 days...they’ve honestly ALL been super good and helpful, but there was one in particular that I feel like is very relevant for today.
DAY 28 -- “This is a scary time to be living in”
Know your authority. Luke 10:19
Receive peace as a gift! John 14:27
Remember what you have--and what you ”have not”. 2 Timothy 1:7
Take your daily “pre-Scripture” as your new “prescription”. Psalm 91:10
Meditate on good news from Job. Job 5:19
Love conquers all. Romans 8:38-39
In the darkest of times, God presents His most stunning performances. Expect God to show up!
“This IS a scary time to live in, if you’re scared of things. I’ll fear God. And nothing less. “
The enemy is less.
The economy is less.
The virus is less.
The government is less.
Homelessness is less.
Unemployment...starvation...rejection...failure...isolation...it’s ALL less.
This IS a scary time to live in, if you’re scared of things. I’ll fear God and nothing less, because I’m called to be a solution in my world. I’m called to make a difference in the world I’m living in! because….
Psalm 91:1-16
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
8 Just open your eyes,
and see how the wicked are punished.
9 If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
11 For he will order his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
13 You will trample upon lions and cobras;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
16 I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”
1 Samuel 16:6-13
Two things to take from that:
Your looks don’t qualify you. Your birth order doesn’t qualify you. Your training and background aren’t the things that qualify you. Your age doesn’t qualify you. Your gender doesn’t qualify you. THE LORD qualifies you.
And THE LORD doesn’t look at the outward appearance, THE LORD looks at the heart.
When THE LORD qualifies you, he also equips you.
He gave David HIS SPIRIT. Powerfully, the text says.
But we don’t have to wonder what the spirit empowered David to do...we have SO MUCH information about David’s life to learn from. Most people think that the Holy Spirit dwelling within us is just a NT thing...but we see it all over the OT too. It’s not readily accessible to just everyone, like it is today because of Jesus, but we get glimpses and examples like David’s that we can learn from too.
1 Samuel 17:1-51
A little more gruesome than you remember that Sunday School story as a kid??
Were there some other surprises too?
How we think faith works:
We think of something impossible, that would be nice to do...and just because we’ve thought of it, God must have given it to us as an assignment, and he’s asking us to pull it off. And it’s a little scary, but also would make us look good, so it must be God! Let’s start getting people on board, and see what happens.
How faith actually works:
You are placed in an impossible situation (like David’s bear and lion), and you have 2 options: run, or whisper a prayer...and fight.
And if you didn’t run, make it through that fight, then they’ll be another one. And again, you could run, or whisper a prayer...and fight.
And before you know it, you’ve made it through 2 fights...and now you’re thanking God, but you’ve also proved to yourself just how much you can accomplish, when you put your mind to it, and you whisper that prayer….
Now, because you got through those two fights...you have the faith for the 3rd.
Faith is BUILT--not just mustered.
David was able to step up to Goliath and save his nation because of two things:
He had built his faith over time.
The Holy Spirit was with him.
The Holy Spirit and real faith was how a young boy stepped up and became the solution for his scared friends, family, and nation.
1 Samuel 1:10, “Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. 11 And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you.”
If you look upon my sorrow….
If you look upon my sorrow...AND ANSWER MY PRAYER
If you look upon my sorrow, and answer my prayer...AND GIVE ME A SON
If you look upon my sorrow, and answer my prayer, and give me a son….I WILL GIVE HIM BACK TO YOU.
You can trust God with your honesty--He will listen.
You can trust God with your prayers--He will answer.
You can trust God with your sacrifice--they are not wasted in His hand.
Esther 4:7-16
She has PASSION FOR HIS PURPOSES. Not her own.
SACRIFICIAL SELFLESSNESS. God is looking for people who are willing to say, use me!
In Esther’s case, she not only had passion for God’s purposes and sacrificial selflessness, but she also had a FOUNDATION OF FAITH and so, when faced with something difficult, that she knew she had to do, she asked for help.
RESOLUTE RESOLVE. If you know that God has called you to something, don’t look back. Don’t second guess. Don’t self-doubt.
NLT: 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”
DESTROY PROUD OBSTACLES
TPT: 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.”
INSIST ON OBEDIENCE
MSG: 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.”
STRUCTURE THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS
NIV: 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
DEMOLISH ASSUMPTIONS
Bible heroes who had to renew their mind:
Moses - “I’m not a leader”
Israelites - slave mentality..they were trained to complain because they were powerless to do anything else.
Cain - “the bare minimum”
Rahab - “Everyone is doing it--it must be right”
Gideon - “There’s power in numbers”
Jesus sent them into the unknown.
Proverbs 15:24, “the path of life winds upward for the wise…”
Complete self-reliance produces isolation.
Speak peace first.
Don’t be surprised at opposition.
Stay humble.
FV, we got this. God has bigger things for us on the other side of this. Each and every one of you have talents and gifts and abilities that God wants to use for the Kingdom! God is doing a new thing. He’s bringing NEW things out of you, he’s building new roads in your life, along new rivers of blessing, as our Bible Plan said this week. He’s opening up new heights from where you will have an AMAZING perspective. It’s time to step into all the promises of God for you, trust in His ability to bring them to pass---and GO CHANGE YOUR WORLD.
Go into the unknown knowing you have a legacy of bravery behind you, squaring your shoulders to the new challenges ahead of you, and understanding that God is molding and shaping YOU as much as HE’s molding and shaping the world THROUGH you. Step into the unknown, disciple of Jesus...you’ve been sent.
“I guess we’re in for a time of hard decisions. I've always felt so bad that my grandchildren couldn't have lived in the calm, peaceful '50s like I did. But God told me no, they were born for this time. This is their time and they are making a huge difference in the world they're living in. So carry on and keep doing what you're doing. Love, Grammy”
Matthew 26:36-56
Right where He was supposed to be.
Matthew 27:11-26
Matthew 28:1-10; Matthew 28:16-20
The Moment.
Walk Out Of That Tomb.
Stephen Served - Crisis Changes
Deacon - means servant - definitions 1 Timothy 3
Deacons - also preached, taught and did miracles.
Stephen Spoke - Crisis Challenges
www.fv.church/heroes
Stephen Sacrificed - Crisis Costs
Stephen Spread - Crisis Creates
TWO SEPARATE FEAR ISSUES GOING ON HERE.
Jesus was being hunted in Judea
Lazarus was very sick and could die.
SPOILER ALERTS BEFORE WE READ THIS:
Jesus did not get captured or die….BUT it did increase the heat exponentially.
Lazarus DID die….but was raised from the dead by Jesus, for a greater purpose.
John 11:1-16
When you’re able to look at life in the way that Jesus did--that death is NOT the end--you look at obedience differently too.
New perspective = new willingness
Daniel 3 “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
WE ARE IN A FAITH BUILDING SEASON. This is when DEEP faith is born. And every single day that you are tested is an opportunity! But what we have to remember during all this, is that God sees things differently than we do….
We have to remember that God sees things so differently than we do.
Your surrender = others surrender
Your leaders need you right now.
“There is a reason the Army pays for chaplains who jump out of airplanes—because soldiers need them.”
SURRENDER IS A PRIVILEGE.
1st week - We can TRUST God with our 10%, because He promises to provide.
2nd week - And he provides SO MUCH, that we have overflow to give to others and be generous. He doesn’t provide that ABUNDANCE AND OVERFLOW for YOU--He provides it so you can be generous with others...
BECAUSE, as we learned last week, the 3rd week - Jesus modeled for us that He treasures PEOPLE over money and possessions--every single time.
Mary - The Unashamed Worshipper
Out of TRUE UNDERSTANDING of who Jesus is.
Martha - The Grateful Servant
Because a love for Jesus, always turns into a love for others as well.
Judas - The Judgmental Thief
Because spending time AROUND Jesus, is not the same as giving him control.
Jesus - The People Treasurer
Because that’s the real treasure.
He was putting his money where his mouth was.
Jesus had said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where . . . thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19–20).
Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).
3. And Jesus had said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24).
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With privileges come pressure.
There’s always a price to pay, isn’t there?
Text: I Kings 18
3 yrs of no rain = economic collapse
1. Generosity chooses Calling over Comfort
"There’s no growth in the comfort zone and no comfort in the growth zone.”
God reserves the right to disrupt your comfort zone at the time and place he chooses.
Your next level of generosity in your life has no respect for your comfort zone.
Comfort is the #1 barrier between you and the next level of growth. We’d rather have cheat sheets than study guides, lose 30 lbs in 30 days…the short cuts don’t work with spiritual growth!
Generous people take ownership, not renter-ship.
2. Generosity chooses Who over What
“Our privilege is found in trusting God, not understanding God.”
If God is the one who said it, the rest doesn’t matter.
3 is the number of Godliness/divinity. 4 is the number of mankind. 12 is the number of completeness.
3. Generosity chooses Giving over Receiving
“Don’t pray for what you won’t pay for!”
Where did the water come from? There’s been a drought! Water was the most valuable resource in the world at that time.
In God’s economy, the way to receive in my life, is to give. The area of your life where you need the most, is the place you need to give the most.
Stop praying for things in your life that you’re unwilling to pay for.
4. Generosity chooses Hearing over Seeing
“We always hear the call, before we the results.”
If we ACTUALLY believed, what we SAY we believe in the Word...how would our lives change?
It often surprises Christians when they discover just how much the Bible talks about money. In fact there are more than 2300 verses on money, wealth and possessions. Jesus spoke about money roughly 15% of his preaching and 11 out of 39 parables.
During offering-time every week, we say “now is the time we worship God with our giving, we really believe giving is an act of worship. That we GET to give, we don’t HAVE to give…” right? We consider it a privilege to give to God...He includes us in His plans, and allows us to participate! Isn’t that a privilege?
Some of you might shake your heads at that statement...but the reality is that probably most of you, don’t actually believe it.
A 2007 Barna Research Group study revealed that only 5% of adults in America tithed.
Among those that do, evangelicals were among the most generous, but still only 25% of them (us!) tithed.
Pushpay (the app that we use to process online giving) reported in 2019 that tithers only make up 10-25% of any congregation.
At FV, our church partners--those of us who have committed ourselves to giving here, serving here, attending here, and growing here...only 66% of us tithe. That number should certainly be 100%, but even that number would only be about 31% of our weekly congregation.
So do we honestly see it as a privilege? Do we even know what that means?
“If you say God is your God, but you don’t tithe, is He really?”
Withholding from God puts barriers between you and Him.
He’s not putting them there…your mistrust is.
We withhold from God out of fear, and fear and faith don't mix.
You take care of the house of the Lord, and He will take care of you.
Sermon Title: TEMPER TEMPER #4: The Fruit Inspector
Remember, the beauty of the Bible is in the details. And here’s another hint: The Bible explains the Bible...
Throughout the Old Testament, Israel is described as God’s vineyard, tree, or planting (6 passages: Judges 9:8–15; Isaiah 3:14; 5:1–7; Jeremiah 12:10; Ezekiel 17:2–10; 19:10–14)
The fig tree is a foundational metaphor for Israel!
And her spiritual health all throughout the OT.
The prophet Isaiah says the time had come for God’s people to yield fruit that would bless the world (Isaiah 27:6).
Several times the prophets (Micah, Jeremiah, Hosea) describe God as inspecting Israel for “early figs,” as a sign of spiritual fruitfulness (Micah 7:1; Jeremiah 8:13; Hosea 9:10–17)—but he finds “no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.”
So in two exiles (Assyrian and Babylonian), God pours out the curse of barrenness (Hosea 9:16), and Israel becomes a rotten fig (Jeremiah 29:17).
But all is not lost. God promises to one day replant Israel and produce healthy figs from her again (Joel 2:22; Amos 9:14; Micah 4:4; Zechariah 8:12; Ezekiel 36:8).
Jesus was…
displaying his power and authority over all creation.
demonstrating the consequences of fruitlessness.
setting the parameters for his church.
Job does two things right: 1. He weeps. 2. He worships.
The friends did a few things right too: 1. They showed up. 2. They sat with him in grief. 3. They listened.
1. You ASSUME God isn’t answering you. Job 34:33-37
2. You ASSUME God is going against his own sense of justice Job 35:1-13
3. You ASSUME you are without sin. Job 35:14-16
4. You ASSUME that because He hasn’t answered so far, he isn’t going to. Job 36:13-21
5. You ASSUME suffering is a punishment. Job 36:26-29
6. You ASSUME you should understand everything about God. Job 38:1-11
I misjudged my own importance.
Not evil, but not safe.
God is sovereign, not simple.
WRONG CONCLUSION #1: Life Should Be Easy
When did we begin to equate safety with the will of God?
HOW could God let this happen?!
WRONG CONCLUSION #2: God is Cruel.
There are levels to this:
Level one is the world’s way of thinking.
Level two is the church’s way of thinking.
Level three is the Kingdom’s way of thinking.
Jesus acknowledges this discrepancy: “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.”
Matthew 5:43-45 NLT
WRONG CONCLUSION #3: I’m my own provider.
Genesis 40:1-23
Ephesians 4:26-27
WRONG CONCLUSION #4: Forgiveness = trust
The opposite direction
We feel very justified in our anger.
Our TEMPERS aren’t always overt and out of control, but that doesn’t mean it’s not hurting you.
“ I just need to CONTROL my emotions well enough that it doesn’t affect my relationships.”
The root of the emotion is what I’m digging at in this series, not the emotion itself.
I have this concern about current Christianity that we focus way too much on our BEHAVIOR, and not nearly enough on the state of our soul. We teach our kids that they should be good, and not tell lies, and don’t steal...instead of teaching them where they can find fulfillment, and how they can understand who they are in Christ Jesus.
Anger is another one of those topical things that covers AND ENABLES a multitude of other sins. Unforgiveness. Bitterness. Insecurity. Jealousy. Pride. Lust. Greed.
But anger is what presents.
So many people try to fix their anger issue, but it’s really something deeper.
5 word sermon in Hebrew: “40 more days and Ninevah will be overturned.”
Certainly, if anyone has a right to be angry in this entire story, it’s God!! But instead, he asks Jonah a patient and kind question.
Is it right for you to be angry about this?
When God asks a question, does He need to know the answer?
Emotions aren’t inherently BAD. Anger isn’t inherently BAD. We should be using our emotions as gauges. “you need to pay attention to this”
God’s anger is always justified and it’s always righteous. Ours rarely is either of those things.
What gives you the right?
But seeing things through KINGDOM EYES is a different story. The Gospel changes everything.
Jonah could have been a pattern of the Gospel. A precursor to the Messiah.
Last week we talked about how comfort is dangerous in the Kingdom though, right?
This book was written for you.
We don’t get to see what happens to Jonah, or the city. We don’t know if Jonah repents, or God takes him out, or what…but the book wasn’t written for Jonah. The book was written for YOU.
What if we’re not Jonah, what if we’re Ninevah?
We ARE Ninevah, but we don’t have Jonah, we have JESUS.
Other verses about anger:
Join the conversation! Comment below and online using #FVChurch and #TemperTemper hashtags with quotes, pictures, and notes from the message this weekend! And don’t forget to tag Freedom Valley Church!
What keeps us in a state of prolonged infancy?
FEAR
DENIAL
TRUTH:
keeps us righteous
prunes us
keeps pride at bay
keeps us constantly changing
Mark 3:25, “a house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Ephesians 3:6-19
“Your roots will grow down deep”
Unity in the church = Holy Spirit in the church
Holy Spirit in the church = unity in the church
I have limited resources. HE has unlimited resources.
Matthew 25:14-30
Time. Patience. Hard Work. FAITH.
Responses:
I need to ask the Holy Spirit to baptize me with this power and fire to reach the lost.
I need to get to work so I’m ready when the next wave of Holy Spirit power comes.