The Wrong Question #4: The Question Unasked

IMMOVABLES in your faith.  Some basic truths in your life that DON’T change, no matter what.

1. The Bible is true.

2. Jesus is the perfect son of God.

3. God is good.

These truths won't change, no matter what I see or hear or believe. My opinions must line up with THEM, or I must discard my opinion and start over.

((Jews’ prayers were generally adorations, and praises of God, and doxologies (a liturgical formula of praise to God.), John taught his disciples such prayers as were more filled up with petitions and requests; for it is said of them that they did deeseis poiountai—make prayers, Luke 5:33. Not recite them, MAKE them. The word signifies such prayers as are properly petitionary.))

Luke 11:1-13

1. This story isn’t about laziness or selfishness. (on the part of the asker)

   1. Not about get rich quick schemes.

      1. “A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.” Prov 28:20

      2. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?” Luke 16:10-12

   2. God always prefers spiritual health, to physical wealth.

      1. He wants to give you the desires of your heart….but when you’re following God, your heart’s desires change.

2. This story isn’t about annoyance. (on the part of God)

   1. This is about you working for something! Being diligent in your prayers. Being steadfast in what you want. Don’t be double minded in your prayers, James says, for a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.

3. This story is about shameless persistence.

   1. Shameless persistence doesn’t mean you’ll get EVERYTHING you want exactly as you want it. It doesn’t mean you get to be a spoiled, rotten brat.  There still has to be an underlying belief that God is good. 

What have you observed Jesus doing lately?  

What are you asking him to be taught right now?

The wrong question is the one unasked.

The Wrong Question #3: What Can You Do For Me?

John 6

Starving mindset.
Me, me, me, I need more…I need to be fed…I need to be in service, I can’t continue to serve once a month, because I just need to be in service…
I’m just starving and I need SOMEONE to feed me!

There are some things we can pick out of this that will help us ask better questions.  Some things about Jesus, and our relationship with Him.

1. Jesus doesn’t always make it easy. “I’m out when things get tough.”

2. Jesus will push through your walls. Our offenses are walls that we have to allow Jesus to push through. “I’m out when something offends me.”

3. Jesus asks for total commitment. The crowd vs The disciples.

Things Jesus DID NOT do for a starving spirit…

1. Keep feeding them baby food.

   1. If you only receive from God in worship services...you need to go deeper.

   2. In the context of someone else’s words..

   3. From the verse of the day...

2. Stress himself out trying to keep them happy.

3. Let them stay in that mindset.

4. Run after them and beg them to come back.

5. Blame himself.  He gave it over to His Father.

So today, my question to you is: are you IN? Or are you OUT?

Are you gonna quit when things get tough? Or when you get offended? 

The wrong question is, Jesus, how can you serve ME?
The right question, is Jesus, how can I serve you?

The Wrong Question #2: What If They Won't Believe Me?

Exodus 3:4-4:17

Mistake #1: Not recognizing the authority of God

Wrong question: What if they won't believe me?

Mistake #2: Thinking it's all about you.

Mistake #3: Forgetting who you're talking to!

Mistake #4: Letting fear paralyze you.

Even when you're asking God the wrong question, you're still asking the RIGHT person!

The Wrong Question #1: When Does It Get Better For Me?

Pride comes before a fall, Proverbs 16:18

Matthew - the excellent side of things...regal, respectable, powerful...attention to detail, nothing out of order. He quoted the OT the most..he was the accountant, the detail guy.
Mark - all about the servanthood of Jesus. No genealogy because who would want to know the pedigree of a servant? We put others first.
Luke - trying to show Jesus as a man. His human, relationship side.
John - trying to show us that Jesus was GOD...his sovereign side.

Acts 1:6-11

World changers are focused on their mission, and they trust God to work out the future.

World Changers have to go back down the mountain.

We can’t see the bigger picture!

Instead of Jesus answering the question what they wanted to know…He gave them what they NEEDED.

WHY did they get to see Jesus ascend?

• They needed closure.

• They needed a commissioning.

• They needed to get to work.

• They needed a helper.

Made New #7: He Got Up!

THE DIFFERENCE wasn’t on the outside. It was on the inside.

Jesus was still the son of God before he was baptized in the HS. 
BUT HIS MINISTRY STARTED WHEN HE WAS BAPTIZED WITH THE Holy Spirit AND FIRE. 

Acts 14:8-20

Today you’re in the House of the Lord--you’re in an environment of FAITH, surrounded by believers.

The amazing thing about a community of faith, is that sometimes you’re the one beat up...and sometimes you’re the one praying.

Made New #6: How's your Dirt?

Matthew 13:1-9

Who’s the Farmer in the story? - God!! He has these incredible seeds to plant in your life…They are the same seeds for everyone!

John 10:10
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Abundant life doesn’t mean easy, it means a life filled with peace, joy, patience, kindness, self control, wisdom, love, knowledge, sacrifice, service, 
God wants to plant those seeds into your life…
So let me ask you this question?  

How’s Your Dirt?!
Jesus talked about a few different types of dirt

Footpath

This is the soil of people who come to church on Sundays and literally sit through it and don’t let any of it sink in…
So many people have gone to church, but refuse to let what is being spoken/the power of Jesus actually change their lives…
The footpath misses the beauty of being part of the field…and when the goodness of God (the seeds) are put on their soil it gets taken away.

Shallow Soil with Underlying Dirt

These are people that come to church and soften a little, but won’t let God reach the deep hurts/pain etc…

Soil with Thorns

This is soil of folks that are starting to really allow God to reach their hearts, but refuse to remove the things in there lives, that are choking them out and killing them (Relationships, habits, hang ups etc)

Fertile Soil

This is the soil that has allowed God to remove the roots, rocks, thorns, weeds…Allowed God to move on their behalf.  
What soil are you?!!?  
Where do you want to be?!
What is keeping you from being fertile soil?  
Hard heart, fear, grit, don’t want to cut things out?! Etc…
Pray for God to make you like fertile soil!

Made New #5: On the Fringe

Luke 8:43-48

1. His Heart is on the Fringe

- There is power in the name of Jesus when you find yourself at the fringe of society.
- One day we will find ourselves all at the feet of Jesus.
- There was healing power in the fringe of Jesus’ garnet and when she touched it was immediately made whole
- She knew sickness for years but in a moment she knew healing.
- Jesus’ heart is on the fringe.
- His passion is to heal those who thought all hope was gone.
- Jesus is a man of sorrows acquainted with grief.
- The sufferings of this life don’t come close to the joys of what’s to come.
- The closer you get to the Lord the deeper your walk must be.

2. Your Healing is in Full

- Suddenly the woman realized she couldn’t hide anymore.
- Jesus felt power go out of him and he stopped everything and asked “Who touched me?"
- She came out of the crowd and fell at the knees of Jesus worshipping God.
- And she was restored.
- When you reach out to Jesus he will restore you.

Made New #4: Sacrifice, Renewal and Sanctification

Romans 12:1-2
In these two verses is a layout of the Christian Journey

A Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1
”And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” (NLT)

What is a living sacrifice?
Sacrifices are sacrificed, slain, killed. What is Paul saying here? A sacrifice was a one time thing. You couldn’t sacrifice and animal twice, it was already dead. A living sacrifice is a sacrifice that stays in that place permanently. Its not a one time thing its an ongoing sacrifice.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Our bodies belong to God. We are temples of the Holy Spirit. When we sacrifice our bodies in service to the Holy Spirit the result is the desire to follow God’s decrees and regulations. As well as the actions that flow out of that desire. We’re to be God's instruments, doing what is right for the Glory of God.

The Behaviors and Customs of This World

Romans 12:2
”Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (NLT)

As Believers we’re not to follow the behaviors and customs of the world. How do we know if were following these behaviors and customs? If you have views, opinions, feeling, or actions that are contrary to what the Bible says. The Bible is our source of truth.

Renewing of the Mind

Instead we’re to led God transform the way we think. Other translations phrase it as renewing your mind. This starts with the previous verse. When we give our bodies over to God permanently as a living sacrifice our desires become the desires of the Holy Spirit. Out of these desires we spend time with God and in these times with God he does his work. He transforms the way we think and renews our minds.
Then we will learn to know God’s will. We will gain new understanding of God and begin to know him.

Sanctification

The Christian Journey is Sanctification. Sanctification is the process of making something Holy.

1 Peter 1:15-16

We must become Holy for God is Holy. And Romans 12:1-2 lays out how this process takes place.
1. We give ourselves completely over to God as a continuous living sacrifice
2. In this our desires become the desires of the Holy Spirit
3. In the time spent with him, in our worship God renews our mind, changing the way we think
4. And this transforms us into a new person
We are transformed into a new creation. A Holy creation that resembles Jesus because he is Holy. This is the journey of a Christian, the word Christian means Little Christ.
Through the process of Sanctification we are Made New, into the image of Christ.
We become a Little Christ.

Made New #3: Three Gaps In Every Church System

Luke 10:1-4

1. A Productivity Gap

2. A Communion Gap

3. The Wrong Question Gap

Made New #2: Would You Like To Get Well?

Please pray for Pastors Candace & Aaron while they are on sabbatical!

John‬ ‭5:1-15

When Jesus asks this man, “would you like to get well?”...He’s not asking for Himself. He’s asking so the man can hear the answer out loud. It’s been THIRTY EIGHT years of sickness. He’s adjusted fully that lifestyle. Other people probably take care of him. Bring him food. Help him get to family functions or a bed at night. Someone has been helping this man for a long time. Any career he had is out the window. Any hopes of having and taking care of a family is probably gone. He’s been living this lifestyle for a LONG time, and HE needed to hear that answer.

Jesus didn’t ask for WHY he couldn't’ get better.  He asked if he would LIKE to get better. And his answer was, “I can’t….because no one will help me.”

THE HELPER OF ALL HELPERS was standing right in front of him, and he was too busy finding excuses as to why he couldn't get better, that he couldn’t see what he was being offered!

1. Finding us IN our mess.

2. Pulling us out of our mess.

3. Teaching us how to be free from the mess.

Made New #1: Stop Repairing The Veil

Matthew 27:35-54

Jesus tore in half the thing that separated us from the very presence of God!
The veil was 65 feet tall, 10 feet wide, and 10 cm thick.

How could they repair something that you MEANT to be broken?
How could they close heaven back up?!

And God said to me...He said, but you do it too.

You stitch up that veil too.

“When we come to God, we must bring nothing but Christ with us. Any ingredients, or any previous qualifications of our own, will poison and corrupt faith.” — Thomas Wilcox

One of the things we need to realize is the fact that Jesus was not raised to heaven, he was raised to earth.

1 Corinthians 15:13-22

---

James 4:8
“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (NIV)
HE WILL COME NEAR TO YOU.

Isaiah 50:4
“The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom,
   so that I know how to comfort the weary.
Morning by morning he wakens me
    and opens my understanding to his will.” (NLT)
HE WILL REVEAL HIS WILL TO YOU. (It doesn’t have to be a mystery!!)

Jeremiah 33:3
“‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’” (NIV)
HE WILL ANSWER YOUR CALL.  

John 15:5
“’I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.'” (NIV)
HE WILL HELP YOU BEAR FRUIT.

2 Corinthians 1:20
For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.
HE MAKES PROMISES TO YOU THROUGH JESUS.

Matthew 28:1-10

Palm Sunday: The Would've Been, Should've Been, Could've Been King

But did you know Jesus got angry?

• Jesus’ anger at those who damage children: “If you harm one of these little ones, better for you that a millstone be draped around your neck and you be dropped into the depths of the sea” (Luke 17:2).

• I see Jesus get angry when Lazarus dies...right before raising him from the dead.

• I see Jesus get angry at the Pharisees, and teachers of religious law.

• I see Jesus rebuke Peter and say, “Get behind me Satan!” for misdirected faith...

• I see Jesus get angry in the Temple...twice.

Mark 11:1-25 - Context Notes:

• this is how returning kings from war entered Jerusalem. This is culturally how LEADERS entered Jerusalem, royalty! And this was the type of honor and celebration they received in return.

• They FULLY EXPECTED him to go straight to the palace.  Straight to the place of GOVERNMENT.  They wanted to overthrow the power that had held them captive for so long, and mistreated them, and distorted their religion, and looked down on them, and enslaved them!  

• The hysteria was such at this time of Jesus’ ministry, that everyone would have heard about this. Cesar himself would have heard about this.

• It must have been a very anti-climactic moment.  They all thought a big showdown was going to happen….God would rain down fire, or walls would come crashing down...or something! But nothing happened.

• They had redesigned the temple, see.  In such a way, that you basically HAD to be able to pay for the BIG sacrifices to be able to get into the inner courts…Essentially, to pass to the “next level” of Jewishness, of relationship with God, of “status” in their culture, they had to pay more. 

• They made a very accessible God seem inaccessible to the average person.  They made God seem aloof and distant and angry.  They were spiritually abusing people, in the name of God. Setting standards so high, only the rich and educated could ever reach.

• I now believe that the fig tree was an object lesson here, for the disciples.

Jesus was doing a couple of important things with this object lesson.

1. Jesus was displaying his power and authority over all creation.

2. Jesus was demonstrating the consequence of fruitlessness.

3. Jesus was setting parameters for His church.

4. Jesus is sending a very clear signal of what He cares about…and what He doesn’t.

If you were a tree--what fruit would you be producing?
If Jesus came and inspected you today--is there anything God could use on your tree?

Some of us are choosing greatness, over usefulness. It LOOKS green & leafy & may provide shade to one or two for a time...but it won’t last long.  And it won’t sustain anyone else.  

The amazing thing about fruit on a tree, is that fruit isn’t about the TREE. It really doesn’t do much for the tree itself. The roots, the leaves, they feed the tree.  But the fruit isn’t about the tree…it’s about the next tree…and it’s about humanity. Feeding the life cycle. Tree are producers in the food chain. 

Privileges #4: The To-Don't List

Genesis 2:1-3

Exodus 20:8-11

Leviticus 25:6-7

Leviticus 25:20-22

1. Our Sabbath should look different than the other days of the week.

2. Our Sabbath should honor Him.

3. Our Sabbath isn't an excuse to be selfish.

4. Our Sabbath should point to Jesus.

Privileges #3: Heart for the House

Haggai 1

1. "The time has not yet come"

• “Delayed obedience, is not obedience.” - Pastor Marvin Stanley

• When IS the right time to be obedient?

  • If not immediately, when?

• What are your motives when you do obey?

2. "Your wages disappear"

• Where are you spending your time & energy?

  • Is it in a place that’s ACCUMULATING good things for you?

• Sin takes 100%...God only asks for 10%.

• Too busy not to pray and too broke NOT to tithe.

• When we experience LACK in our lives...we should see it as an opportunity to return to GENUINE worship of God. 2:16-17

• Why would God give you new and better things when you’re not taking care of the little things you have now?

  • “Give freely, and become more wealthy, be stingy and lose everything.” Prov. 11:24

  • Jesus said, ““If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.” Luke 16:10

3. "So the Lord sparked enthusiasm"

• Can you really say that you are HIS PEOPLE without having a heart for His House?

John 13:35

We GET to give.  We GET to have an amazing church where we can come and worship freely, vibrantly, passionately!  Look for ways that you can care more deeply about God’s House.  Ways you can serve that go beyond just finances.  Because God’s not after your money...He’s after your heart.

Privileges #2: The Surprise of Sacrifice

1 Samuel 1:10-11, “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.’”

1. If you look upon my sorrow..

Hannah correctly diagnosed the problem.

2. If you look upon my sorrow...AND ANSWER MY PRAYER...

Evangelist Johannes Amritzer says, “I think God prefers an honest cussing, to a hypocritical hallelujah.”

3. If you look upon my sorrow, and answer my prayer...AND GIVE ME A SON...

Your job is not your source. Your spouse is not your source. YOU are not the source. Just like Job, we have to remember that God is so much BIGGER, he orchestrates the UNIVERSE on our behalf. EVERY good and perfect gift comes from Him. AND–the amazing thing is, He WANTS to give to us!! He is a GOOD Father, with GOOD gifts.

4. If you look upon my sorrow, and answer my prayer, and give me a son….I WILL GIVE HIM BACK TO YOU.

She never saw Samuel as her own.

An ownership vs. stewardship concept. 

She understood the principle of sacrifice in God’s Kingdom.  The principle that states that when we give something up to put in God’s hand...it’s not gone, and it’s not wasted.  Nothing is wasted in God’s hand.  When we sacrifice out of obedience, God honors and blesses.  And God’s math is not addition, it’s multiplication. He gives exponentially more--He does not waste a sacrifice. 

NOTHING is wasted in God’s hand.

Privileges #1: The Thief

 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?

The book of Malachi

“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.

The Comfort Zone #5: The Cult of Comfort

What if God sees everything that you’re doing...all of the good...all of the serving Him..all the sacrificing and striving and trying to be good and follow Him….and STILL bad things happen??

What we see in this story, is a man who always obeys God, and always gets rewarded for it. He’s a very rich man, lots of kids, success everywhere he goes. He’s a GOOD man, a man of complete integrity.  Job was as close to perfect as humans can get, basically.  And he lived a good life because of it.  (success can put up as many blinders as failure can…)

Job 1
Job 2:3-13

We see Job doing two things incredibly RIGHT here:

• He weeps

• He worships.

Job 3:1-5

Job maintains the entire time that he’s innocent. He’s done nothing so wrong that it would possibly justify this. But he also maintains that God is just.

And so, in the end, he DEMANDS a response from God. He MUST know how God can possibly justify this.

Job 32:2-5

Elihu make some SOLID points…he’s essentially saying:

1. You ASSUME God isn’t answering you.

   1. --maybe He has, and you weren’t listening. 

   2. Job 33:12-18

2. You ASSUME God is going against his own sense of justice.

   1. when really, you’re putting your own justice on Him.

   2. Job 34:33-37

3. You ASSUME you are without sin.

   1. But by doing so, you are committing the sin of pride.

   2. Job 35:1-13

4. You ASSUME that because He hasn’t answered so far, He isn’t going to.

   1. when really, you’re just not being patient.

   2. Job 35:14-16

5. You ASSUME suffering is a punishment.

   1. but what if it’s a warning?

   2. Job 36:13-21

6. You ASSUME you should understand everything about God.

   1. but really, who could? ever?

   2. Job 36:26-29

We’re too busy trying to defend ourselves...that we can’t see the EGREGIOUS assumptions we’re making about God. 

And because of those assumptions, we’re ANGRY AT GOD. 
We’re comfortable in our assumptions..

Job 38:1-11

Job 40:1-14

The Comfort Zone #4: The Opposite Direction

Jonah 1:1-16

Jonah is unique…the book is not about the words of a prophet, it’s a story about a prophet. 

Jonah appears only one other time in the OT, during the reign of Jeroboam II, one of Israel’s worst kings. An evil guy, a bad guy. Jonah prophesied in his favor. Amos also prophesied against Jeroboam because of his awfulness. So, already we’re sort of skeptical of the prophet Jonah. It’s fascinating to me that God uses him anyway.

He ran the opposite direction.

Jonah 1:17-3:10

Jonah 4:1-4

Is it right for you to be angry about this?

Jonah 4:5-11

The book was written for YOU.

The Comfort Zone #3: Where Is God When I Need Him?

Spiritually, sometimes we think we know how we would handle a parenting situation, but we’re not often the parent. Spiritually, we’re the kid throwing a tantrum.

Where is God when I need Him?

It would only have taken one day for Jesus to go see Lazarus.
Every person is either going into a storm, in the middle of the storm, or coming out of a storm.

John 11:1-44 (you don't have to put the scripture up, just the reference)

1. Love waits: We think Love must act immediately, but sometimes delay brings greater blessing.

Every move that God makes is either in response to love, or because of love.

Verse 31 & 32: “Lord, if you had only been here.“

God is not restrained by time like we are, He responds at the RIGHT time

Our faith develops out of the most difficult aspects of our existence; not the easiest

Maybe the waiting is so that I don’t substitute ANYTHING for what Jesus can give. Sometimes we’re so wrapped up in what’s going on that we miss what God is doing God’s delays are not always God’s denials.

2. Love Hears and Responds: God’s love keeps His ears open to our cries (Psalm 116:1-2)

God’s love is always looking out for our good, but also for His glory. And sometimes what we want isn’t the BEST for us.

In Jewish tradition, when someone passed away, your spirit would leave your body, but be tethered to you for about 3 days.

Our God makes the impossible possible.

Jesus is the OPPOSITE of death, He is LIFE.
You want more life? Cling to Jesus and don’t let go.

How long have you been between miracles?

“I can’t WAIT to see how Jesus handles this! I can’t wait to see how Jesus breaks through.”

Some of the things we are trusting God to resurrect are things He has destined to die so that a better thing can be brought to life.

3. Love Sees and Comforts: Troubles are a very real part of our lives – for most of us, they can plague our every day and keep us in fear.

Fear distracts us from the Lord and keeps us in bondage.

It is Christ, not culture, not trouble, that defines our lives. It is the help we experience, not the storms we weather that shape our days.

The difference between His response and our response is that HIS response is always better.

Are you willing to trust God even when the answer to your prayer is not even in your lifetime like Abraham?

4. We just need to move from a “Lord if…” mentality to a “Yes, Lord, I believe.” response.

Some Next Steps:

1. Join a small group.

2. Write down what you’re waiting on from God

3. Spend some time this week listening to God, not just talking at Him

4. Write down Philippians 4:8-12

5. Come back next week and continue to growth through this series.

The Comfort Zone #2: Building Your People with Pastor Gerry Stoltzfoos

Hebrews 10:23-25, “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”

1. Hold to hope

   1. V. 23  Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

   2. No one naturally is hopeful. But some people have learned skills to work at it.

      1. Some of the most hopeful have had to work hard on it. (they try hard)

      2. People who project hope, work hard projecting hope. It doesnt just come.

   3. In relationships, hope is especially needed 1) to believe,  2)to ask for more,  3)to try again after a loss

   4.  But hold tightly to hope! Here issuggestions for  how to hold onto hope…

      1. Write down your hope. Writing down your hope helps solidify it in your heart and you need it to be sound so it can hold up against the attacks that will come – sometimes from people that mean well.

      2. Speak your hope. Read aloud what you write down. Speaking the hope helps it settle into your mind to the point it becomes your default position. Never assume people know what you are hopeful about!

      3. Find other hopeful people to hang around. Not only will their hope reinforce your hope, but you will become more hopeful for having an influx of hopeful attitudes around you.

      4. Repeat hope verbally. When you feel the darkness getting heavier, begin at the beginning of the process to hold tight to hope until hope settles in once again.

2. Motivate somebody

   1.  V. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

   2. In motivating others, your own motivation happens!!

   3. How to motivate:

      1. Encourage them in the little things

      2. Appreciate them personally

      3. Make sure that you give far more positive encouragement than negative reinforcement

      4. Talk up how to do it, opportunities to do it, appreciation to those who do it.

      5. Build heroes pf people who have done it!

   4. How to de-motivate:

      1. Be controlling; take responsibility for their lives, tell them what to do and how to do it.

      2. Be manipulative: try to make them do things for you, without saying it.

      3. Critisize: find things they do wrong and point them out.

3. Encourage your people

   1. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

   2. This is the best way to motivate someone!

   3. Constantly build the skills of encouragement

   4. If you ever like anything, say it!

      1. Spend time with them.

      2. Smile at them

      3. If you feel ANYTHING positive, say it

(make yourself a pledge; “I will never feel positive without appreciating it outloud)

1. Notice the little things