Dear Church #2: The Worn Down Church

 Smyrna from Revelation:

• is on the banks of the Agean Sea. It sat about 35 miles North of Ephesus.

• It was a beautiful city - advanced for its time-period with wide paved streets, that went from one end of the city to another. They had a famous stadium, an impressive library and the largest theater in ALL of Asia Minor.

• Homer was born there.  The author of The Iliad and The Odyssey.

• It was ideal for shipping and a hub for trade. And Wherever there’s trade, there’s money, so Smyrna became a wealthy city. 

• It became a melting pot of culture & religion & art.

• Most people participated in idol worship and worship of the Roman emperor.  Actually, Worship-of-the-emperor was the law-of-the-land.  Around 90 A.D. That’s what happened - The emperor made a law that says:  “He was God.”

Revelation 2:8-11

In this letter to Smyrna we’ll see: 

1. The Picture of Jesus '- “I know what you’re going through.”

   1. Romans 6:9: We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.

2. The Persecution of the Church - “I see what you’re going through.”

   1. James 1:2: Count it all joy, when you meet trials of various kinds.

3. The Promise for Believers - “But I also know what’s coming.”

Dear Church #1: The Forgetful Church

Revelation 1:3, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.”

In Revelation, John writes of:
1. Vision of the majestic court in Heaven - where Jesus is described as the LAMB of God who is worthy to receive blessing & honor & glory & power forever & ever.   
2. Vision of the judgments that are yet to be unleashed on the Earth - that will the final 7 years of Earth as we know it. We call it the Tribulation - but coinciding w/ all the judgment, many ppl will acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord - so it’s really a revival as well, but likely at the cost of their own lives, so it won’t feel like the revivals that we pray for..
3. Vision of the final conflict (Armageddon) and the aftermath
4. Vision of the New Heaven & the New Earth - where we will be forever w/ Jesus (never to know pain, sickness, sorrow, mourning, or evil  ever again)  Perfect peace IN a perfect place.

7 Letters to 7 Churches: most of them have 3 parts. commendation, correction, counsel.

7 Stars = 7 messengers (or probably leaders, or pastors of the churches)

7 Lampstands = 7 churches

Revelation 1:20, “As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

Revelation 2:1-7

They were enduring, that was good. The church of Ephesus was enduring lots of spiritual darkness in their city…sorcery, witchcraft, demonic things being practiced, as well as a large temple of Artemis and prostitution-worship. The church was able to keep the evil out! Jesus says, good job.

Jesus is aware of our labor, and our hard work! He notices. He sees us.

But! His complaint was that they lacked the love they had at first.

They’re dogmatic about their doctrine but stagnant in their devotion.

The Ephesian church ABANDONED their love. They didn’t LOSE it, they LEFT it. They were the FORGETFUL Church. The drifting church.

As a church attender, you can move into the danger of zone of serving and being a PART, but not being pastored. There is an essential element here of Jesus PASTORING, shepherding His Church. A shepherd can see if one of their sheep is going off on a slightly wrong path, and corrects them…guides them back into it.

First step: Look, how far you’ve fallen.

Second step: Repent, and get back on track.

Third step: Hate, what is evil.

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Another Interesting Perspective On The Book of Revelation:

What It Is To Be Holy By Pastor Isaiah

• Holiness, many have heard the word. But how many have taken the time to really understand what it is to be Holy?

•  To really understand and grasp what holiness is according to God we have to examine both Old Testament and the New Testament

• Someone who reads just one or the other will miss the complete picture of what it means to be Holy.

• But when read together we get a complete picture.

• The word Holy is defined as:  Set apart, different, other, or otherness

• When people think about the word holiness nowadays they think of words like purity, perfection, sinlessness. Our minds go straight to morality.

• But that's not actually what the word means at its core. We’ll see where those connotations came from as we go along. But in the ancient world the word holy was used to describe anything out of the ordinary, not normal or other.

• Our God obviously fits this definition as well. Not only does he fit the definition, he is the epitome, the apex of holiness. Yahweh is set apart from all other Gods; he is different from them as he wasn't created by human hands. He alone is the one, true God… Yahweh is set apart from all of creation as creator. All powerful, all knowing Yahweh is the very standard of holiness.

Holiness Lessons from the Old Testament

• With the definition of holiness we can learn more about holiness from Israel. The Israelites were God's chosen people. Different from any other people group on the earth. A people chosen to be in a covenant relationship with God.

• They were by definition Holy.

• Which makes chapter 19 of Leviticus kind of strange

• Leviticus 19 starts out this way:

• The Lord also said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

• Here we have God giving a command to his people Israel who by the very definition of Holy are a Holy people. They have been set apart from the rest of the world by means of their covenant with God and yet God commands them to be Holy…

• And then for the rest of the chapter God begins to instruct them on how to live moral lives.

• And this teaches us that in God’s view, holiness and living a moral life are not separate from each other. This is where our contemporary understanding of the word holy comes from. It comes from a biblical context.

• Now to fully understand what is going on here and to learn more about holiness we have to understand some things about Levitical law and how God thinks vs how the world thinks.

• Now when the world thinks of things like morality they have two ways of thinking. Good, and Bad

• But when we examine Levitical Law and the way God views things there are 3 ways of thinking…

• There are Holy, Sacred and Godly things. Things pertaining to God, used for his purpose

• There are Clean, Common and Good things. The everyday things, good things but not holy and set apart for God’s purposes

• And then there are Unclean, Sinful and Bad things

• And there is also a ladder of sorts that connects the 3, you can go both up and down the ladder

• You can take a Holy thing and make it Common. This happens when you profane the Holy, desecrate what is sacred. You do this by treating something that is Holy and Sacred with Irreverence and Disrespect

• You can take a Common/Clean thing and make it Sinful or Unclean. You do this by corrupting what is good/common or polluting what was clean

• But you can also go the other way and redeem the Unclean, Sinful, Bad things

• You can take something that is Unclean, Sinful and Bad and cleanse it. Removing the impurities and corruption making that thing Clean, Common, Good.

• And you can take something that is Common, Clean or Good and make that thing Holy, Sacred and Godly. And you do that by consecrating it.

• Now as a side note Unclean and Sinful are not synonymous in Levitical Law. Everything that is sinful is unclean but not everything that is unclean is sinful. Much of Old Testament law has to deal with ritual purity and hygiene rather than morality. So some things that would make you unclean include exposure to dead bodies, certain bodily fluids, skin diseases as well as menstruation. But just because these things are unclean that doesn't mean they are sinful.

• The chart isn't perfect but it gets the idea across effectively

• Now on this chart the thing to focus on in regards to understanding chapter 19 is the word consecrate and the process of making something Common into something Holy.

• The word consecrate means to dedicate formally to a divine purpose; to declare something sacred.

• Now when either a person or an object, is consecrated to a God that means 3 things for the thing being consecrated.

• 1. What is consecrated now belongs exclusively to that God

• 2. What is consecrated can now only be used for that God’s purposes

• 3. The thing that was consecrated must now take on the character of the God it was consecrated to.

• And these things are what God was beginning to instruct Israel how to do in Chapter 19.

• God was teaching the Israelites how to consecrate themselves to become Holy to reflect their Holy God.

• Because being Holy according to God is more than just being different and set apart, it also means:

• That we belong to God exclusively

• That we are to be used for his purposes only

• And that we reflect the character of God

• Now before we jump into the New Testament there’s a foundation we need to build to understand the significance of what we’ll learn

• Because something else that we learn from Levitical Law and the chart above. Its how these 3 things can mix together and what the results are when they do

• When you have Holy things and they mix with common things, do the Holy things make the Common things Holy or do the Common make the Holy things Common?

• The Common things make the Holy thing Common. Much like when clean things mix with unclean things.

• When you drop a freshly cleaned plate into the trash are you now able to eat your food off the plate and the trash?

• Of course not! You have to clean the plate again.

• Because the Unclean things make the Clean things dirty.

• And then we have Holy and Unclean or Sinful things. And in the Bible these two things are NEVER to come into contact with one another.

• And we can see the importance of this in how the Old Testament temple was constructed.

• God’s presence, his raw glory and holiness resided in a room called the Holy of holies or the Most Holy Place. The Holy of Holies was separated by a veil from the room it was inside which was called Holy Place and that room was separated from the rest of the temple, which was separated from the rest of the Israelite camp.

• So God resided in a room that was separated from another room, and that room was separated from the temple which was separated from the camp.

• The only people that were allowed into the Holy Place were the Temple priests.

• And the only person allowed into the Most Holy Place where God's raw presence was the High Priest, and he was only allowed to enter one day a year. The Day of Atonement. And he was only able to enter after he followed the proper steps laid out in Leviticus 16. An entire chapter full of instructions, sacrifices and rituals the High Priest must go through in order to be properly consecrated and enter the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement.

• And the reason the Temple was constructed this way was so that God could reside amongst his people while being separated from anything that was unclean or unconsecrated.

• Now what if the High Priest failed to follow all the instructions laid out in Leviticus 16? Or what if an unclean person decided to enter the Holy of Holies? What would happen?

• Well normally a Holy thing that comes into contact with the unconsecrated or unclean would become profane or corrupted.

• But our God is incorruptible so… what would happen?

• The answer is found in Leviticus 16:2

  • The Lord said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover.

• The unclean, unconsecrated person would die.

• Because God’s holiness is dangerous to the unconsecrated.

• Now we move onto the book of Isaiah. Because something crazy happens in the book of Isaiah. Something that takes so much of what we just learned and throws a curveball at it.

• And it takes place in Isaiah chapter 6

• It starts out like this:

• It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.

• So the scene opens with Isaiah standing inside the temple in the presence of God

• Now Isaiah was Jewish, he grew up learning the Law, knew the customs and rules of temple worship.

• Only priests allowed in the Holy Place. Only the High Priest allowed in the Holy of Holies in the very presence of God and only one day a year

• And here Isaiah finds himself standing before God himself, seeing him with his own eyes, inside the Temple, inside the holy of holies.

• Now with what we just learned, how do you think Isaiah responds to this… unique situation he’s in?

•  Probably how anyone would respond faced with their inevitable smiting

• Isaiah 6:5

  • Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

• This guy starts freaking out! But look at what Isaiah says I have unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips.

• Isaiah knows he’s unclean, he lives amongst people who are unclean. He knows what is Holy and what is Unclean must never come into contact. And because of that he is going to die.

• But he doesn't! Instead something completely unexpected happens!

• Isaiah 6:6

  • Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

• So this angel takes a piece of coal, a piece of coal that has been consecrated, that belongs to God, that is used solely for the purposes of God, a piece of coal that is Holy… and places it on lips that are unclean!?

• And when the coal touches Isaiah’s lips it's not corrupted, rather it transforms him, it cleanses his unclean lips and makes them clean.

• What's going on here, what could this mean!?

• Well I'm not gonna tell you. Not right now at least. I'm just gonna leave you with that we’ll come back to it soon though.

Holiness Lessons from the New Testament

• Now our final lesson on what it means to be Holy can be found by examining two NT stories found in Mark 5:25-34 and Matthew 8:1-3

• But lets first examine an important New Testament character named Jesus

• Jesus Christ the son of God, God himself, the second person of the Trinity, the epitome of holiness comes down to Earth to live amongst mankind. Sinful, unclean mankind.

• And based on what we know about Holy and Unclean things that sounds like a recipe for disaster.

• People dropping dead everywhere. Right!? Well, let's see.

• Let's read Mark 5:25-34

• And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

• At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

• “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

• But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

• Okay that definitely brings up some questions. Now keep this story in the back of your minds as we read Matthew 8:1-3 and then we’ll piece it together after.

• Matthew 8:1-3

• Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.

• Here in these two stories we see two unclean people, a leper and a bleeding woman coming into contact with holiness itself. The God of the universe, the apex of holiness. 2 Things that are never to come into contact! 

• Now the Holiness of Jesus wasn't corrupted, as we said earlier God is incorruptible. But neither were these 2 killed on the spot!? Why?

• Well this is because Jesus came down to Earth as one of us. His raw holiness and glory veiled by his human form. Still present, as he was fully God but veiled by his humanity as he was also fully human.

• Okay, but not only were they not destroyed, they were transformed and healed. They were made clean. What’s going on!?

• Here is the fulfillment of what was being foreshadowed in Isaiah 6

• Jesus Christ, God himself revealing more aspects of his character to humanity. And our final piece to understanding the full picture of what it is to be Holy.

• And that piece is this… Holiness, Holy people make unclean things clean.

• Now you might ask yourself well, what's changed? Why is it that the same holiness that was once so dangerous to the unclean now used to purify it?

• And the answer to that is God's grace and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross

• Jesus’ sacrifice atoned for our sins, our uncleanliness. And the moment Jesus died on the cross the Bible tells us that the veil in the Holy of Holies, the one that separated God's presence, his holiness from the world was ripped in two. Meaning God no longer has to be separated from us. 

• And now God’s presence and holiness has found a new home inside each person who declares Jesus as Lord.

• And with that final piece we can now see the complete picture.

• In God’s eyes Holiness is to be Set Apart from the World, different from the rest of the world in how we behave in how we think and how we live.

• Being Holy means we belong exclusively to God. This is what 1 Corinthians 6:19 means when it says You Do Not Belong to Yourself!

• Being Holy means we are used only for God’s purposes. This is what Jesus meant in Luke 9:23-24 when he said

• 23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

• We must die to ourselves, our work, our desires, our goals must be consecrated and devoted to bringing God glory.

• It means we must reflect the character of God.

• We must listen to our consciences, to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We must study the word, know the character of God and take on that character. We must be sanctified!

• And it means that we are to make Unclean things Clean

• We are to share the Gospel! The good news! Make disciples of all nations. Teach others about Jesus. Be a light to a dark world, provide peace to those who are hopeless.

• This is what it is to be Holy. And it's not optional.

• Hebrews 12:14

  • Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.

Rewind Weekend 2023

2023 NUMBERS

• Christmas Sponsorship: 18 families, 48 kids 

• Gettysburg CARES: THREE weeks! 27ish people a day

• Started a Clothing Closet this year! By the way, still looking for a few items to finish that off, and ALWAYS looking for more kids clothing donations! 

• Prison Ministry

• 12 suitcases for the Tanzania Team!

• Sent 6 people to Tanzania!

• Kids

• Breakaway: 13

• Summer Camp: 14 

• Youth - 

• Winter Retreat: 19

• Camp: 17

• Started a Bible Quiz team this year

• Baptism: 40

• New Partners: 13 

• Deliverance team estimates 39 deliverances! They’ve been casually training people too! Maybe up to 10?

• Salvation and “I’m in” responses: 150!!

Psalm 127:1-2 English Standard Version
 Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
    and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
    for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Psalm 127:1-2 NLT
Unless the Lord builds a house,
    the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city,
    guarding it with sentries will do no good.
2 It is useless for you to work so hard
    from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
    for God gives rest to his loved ones.

Vanity is not productive. Long term.

Proverbs 16:4, “The Lord has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster.”

The story of Mary & Martha - Luke 10 - Jesus said, vs.42 “There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

2 Samuel 6 - a man named Uzzah caught the ark of the covenant

God hides things from the proud, but reveals things to the humble.. That was a fact Jesus thanked God for in Matthew 11.

The Good News #4: The Christmas Spirit

Luke 2:18-20 “All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.”

To hold onto the Christmas spirit we must:

1. Remember

2. Celebrate

3. Share it!

Merry Christmas FV! Go be Jesus to your friends and family this holiday season!

The Good News #3: Because You Believed

Luke 1:5-25

Luke 1:26-45

First of all, they were BOTH Godly people. 

Second, they were both shaken and confused and a little scared

Third, and here’s where they differ…they both had questions
BUT– one an expression of belief, and one was an expression of disbelief.

our WORDS CAN get in the way of what God wants to do!  Will He still do it? Yeah, just not through you.

Matthew 12:39, “But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign;”

When you don’t believe God the first time, why should he speak a second time?

Mary’s question, on the other hand, “wasn’t how can I be sure this will happen”…it was how can it happen?  See the difference?

Mary was a WORSHIPER

Luke 1:46-56

How do we worship better?
Less about me, more about Him. 
Get your focus ONTO Him. It fixes a lot more than you think it will.

Why rob other people a chance to believe too, just because of your own insecurities and doubt? 

Did you know that the Barna Research Group put something out THIS WEEK that says that “Spiritual openness is widespread right now. Barna data show that 77 percent of U.S. adults believe in God or a higher power, 74 percent would like to grow spiritually and 44 percent are more open to God today than they were before the pandemic.”

The Good News #2: Available

PASSION is what I want us to catch from this series--because we are a vibrant, passionate, and selfless church, and because PASSION is what should fuel our evangelism.  It should fuel everything that we do as believers.

Stirring up a passion is possible, when there’s a willingness to.  

Luke 2:1-20

Gen 49:10, “The scepter will not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants,
until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,
    the one whom all nations will honor.”

(Daniel 2:44 says (in the 500’s BC), ““During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.”)

HOW GOOD is this news… that the God of the universe couldn’t stop talking about it for THOUSANDS OF YEARS PRIOR AND SINCE. That He sent ANGELS to announce it! 

THIS is the basis for our PASSION for the Good News.  It’s the understanding that God is SO BIG.  His plans are SO PERFECT.  And we are so arrogant to assume we know more than Him!!! 

• It’s not a sacrifice to serve Him, or live in surrender to Him...when I have this revelation, it’s...a no-brainer. I can now see these layers of rebellion against that plan in my life--that I just don’t have any business believing. I WANT to obey on so many more levels when I understand this...my life isn’t about ME

God’s people THROUGHOUT THE GENERATIONS have been made to serve governments that they did not like.  That they did not think was according to God’s perfect plan for them...But if anything shows us, that God’s will and plan cannot be thwarted by ANY move of ANY government EVER, it’s this story. 

We’re not afraid of the world becoming a weirder, darker place culturally. Because in the dark, we shine brighter!

WHY the shepherds?

Shepherds in that time: out in the rocky deserts, dirty, stank, weren’t allowed to worship in the temple, weren’t allowed to give testimony in court...they had low social status (low social status, does not mean low spiritual status. God doesn’t look at the outward appearance, He looks at the heart. The most important thing you can work on in this life, is your INNER world, not your OUTER world. Work on your CHARACTER, and let God work on your respect.)

They were AVAILABLE. & receptive. (Even God didn’t announce his good news to people who weren’t ready to hear it.  He gave it to the people who were receptive and available!!)

Immediate acceptance. Immediate involvement.

SLOW DOWN. Stop being too busy.  Make time for people. 

Invite people into your world! THAT’s preaching the Gospel too!

Is it my business to say someone’s no for them!?

The Good News #1: Gifts Fit For A King

I think in our culture we take it for granted…I think we see it more as “old news”, than the good news. 

What is the Gospel? You should have an answer to this question.

Matthew 2:1-12

What we know about the Wise Men:

1. They were probably rulers of some sort.

2. Not Jews, but devout followers of God.

3. They studied the stars, and took it seriously.

4. They traveled far to bless the Messiah. Not to be blessed by Him.

5. They gave him gifts.  The BEST gifts.  Gifts fit for a king! They knew that the new this good…required a sacrifice.  News this good, was worth giving EVERYTHING to. 

God can send help from the most unlikely places.

The Book of Isaiah, when describing Jerusalem’s glorious restoration, tells of nations and kings who will come and “bring gold and frankincense and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord” (Isaiah 60:6).

In addition to the honor and status implied by the value of the gifts of the magi, scholars think that these three were chosen for their special spiritual symbolism about Jesus himself—gold representing his kingship, frankincense a symbol of his priestly role, and myrrh a prefiguring of his death and embalming—an interpretation made popular in the well-known Christmas carol “We Three Kings.”

The Wise Men’s gifts were:

• Useful & Generous.

  • Are you THAT useful and generous to the church? To the vehicle God now uses to preach Jesus? If the church NEVER gave you ANYthing back--would you still serve it?

• Precious & Valuable.

  • The GOOD NEWS is worth our BEST. Not your leftovers, not your reluctance. It’s worth your best!!

  • Evangelism is costly.

• Respectful & worshipful.

  • We show our love for Him by giving our best gifts, by giving him our BEST worship, and by treating the Gospel with the REVERENCE it deserves.

Who are you praying for right now?

Who are you showing Jesus to right now?

Who are you preaching the Good News to, right now?

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GOLD

Gold may have been the first metal that human beings encountered, because it can often be found in its pure natural state (for instance, nuggets in streams) rather than mixed in ore, which requires smelting. People have always valued gold for its luster, beauty, malleability, and resistance to corrosion and tarnish. These attributes also led ancient civilizations throughout the world to associate gold with royalty, immortality, and deity. It was first used in minted currency in the seventh century B.C.

Gold from the Wise Men has frequently been mentioned as possibly being very useful in helping Joseph and Mary pay for their flight to Egypt to escape Herod. (The other gifts could have been sold for a very good price as well.)

FRANKINCENSE

Originating in Arabia and northern Africa, frankincense is a dried resin (from trees of the genus Boswellia) used in perfumes and incense for thousands of years. Historically, frankincense was a highly valued commodity. When burned as incense, it was often valued for its aroma as well as for its reputed ability to disinfect and repel insects and other pests.

Frankincense was used in ancient Israelite temple worship as:

An ingredient in the perfume of the sanctuary (see Exodus 30:34).

An accompaniment to the meat offering, which was part of all burnt and peace offerings (see Leviticus 2:1, 16).

An accompaniment to the shewbread in the outer compartment of the tabernacle (or holy place) and burned as a memorial before the presence of the Lord (see Leviticus 24:7). Burning incense in the temple represented prayer (see Psalm 141:2).

MYRRH

Myrrh is also a dried resin from Arabia and northern Africa (from thorny shrubs and trees of the genus Commiphora) used in perfumes, incense, and medicines for thousands of years. The word comes from an Arabic word meaning “bitter.” It has been valued for its aroma as well as for its use as an antiseptic, analgesic (topical painkiller), and other medicinal qualities.

Myrrh was used in ancient Israelite temple worship as an ingredient in the holy anointing oil for consecrating priests, the tabernacle, and kings (see Exodus 30:23–25). It was used in the purification of Queen Esther (see Esther 2:12), and it was also used in embalming (see John 19:39).

Attitude of Gratitude #4: Praising In The Pain

Acts 16:16-40

Thankful IN the bad things…not the absence of them.

Hebrews 12:7-11

Midnight singing & dungeon faith

Psalms 20:7

God can change circumstances SUDDENLY.

We are citizens.

Here's what I've learned about gratitude in this series.

1. Gratitude anchors us in the PRESENT, but helps us have hope for the future. 

2. Gratitude is a feeling, but it’s also a practice.  

3. Faith and gratitude are linked.

Attitude of Gratitude #3: In All Circumstance

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Be thankful in all circumstances.
Selfishness doesn’t pay off in long-term happiness.
Short-term happiness does not pay off in long term fulfillment and purpose.

Romans 5:1-2

more pride doesn’t fix a confidence problem

We have undeserved privilege.

Acts 4:13

Romans 5:3-5

Problems and trials —> endurance —> strength of character —> CONFIDENT hope of salvation

Maybe instead of praying that God would take things OFF your plate, ask Him to give you a bigger plate.
The goal is not to eliminate stress from your life…but get better at HANDLING stress.
You do that, with gratitude.

Romans 5:6

Luke 22:14-20

Attitude of Gratitude #2: On The Way

‭‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭11‬-‭19‬

What can we learn from…

…the 10?
It’s one thing to call Him master, and another to obey.
It’s one thing to ask for healing…and another thing to move toward the healing.
If you want something from Jesus, you better be willing to do it HIS way.

…the 1?
He wanted Jesus to have the glory before he had the benefit.‬

…the 9?
Gratitude goes the extra mile
Gratitude goes out of its way.
Gratitude isn't rebellious or entitled.

…Jesus?
He heals AND makes whole.

What about your gratitude?
Loud - Humble - Immediate - Whole-hearted

EXCERPT FROM THE ABOVE ARTICLE:
(would be a very interesting study!)

Studying leprosy helps us see why pain is a valuable “gift,” a survival mechanism to warn us of danger in this cursed world. Without pain and suffering, we might be like lepers, unable to recognize that something is terribly wrong and that we need the healing touch of God. As Dr. Brand said, “I cannot think of a greater gift that I could give my leprosy patients than pain.”

Attitude of Gratitude #1: Today is the Day

Ephesians 4:11-13
James 4:6
Luke 11:5-10

We need to STOP giving God our credentials, and start reminding ourselves of HIS.

It’s not God’s blessing that I deserve…it’s his discipline.
When I come to him with a HUMBLE mindset, then He can give grace…which He loves to give!

TODAY is the day that the Lord has made..

((Exodus 4:24-26))

Entitlement kills gratitude. Entitlement kills humility.

The Locusts #5: Heart For The House

Mark 12:38-40

It was not uncommon for a husband to appoint in his will a Jewish legal expert—a scribe or Pharisee—to be the executor of his widow’s estate. Essentially, this gave the executor authority to oversee the widow’s finances and assets. It would not be hard for a corrupt lawyer to find legal ways to trick a widow out of her house and other property—and this is precisely what the religious leaders were doing.  (This is another example of Jesus SEEING women and advocating for them.

1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”

in another location Jesus says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God! Matt 19:24

Money is a tool.

Mark 12:41

Jesus noticed how (and how much) they gave.
Jesus watched. He IS watching.  Has that ever really sunk in? He cares about HOW you bring your offering, not just that you do. He cares if your heart is CHEERFUL as you give, not just THAT you give.

You know the Bible calls the church the BRIDE of Christ?  He laid down his life for His bride…and then you come in and you use and abuse her…You treat her badly or only treat her as an obligation or ritual…something to gain HIS favor…ew.  He notices.  You only like her when she’s fun and complimenting you…not when she speaking truth or asking you for more. 

Changes how you think about it when you think about the church as a person.  If you wouldn’t treat a person this way, why would you treat the church this way?  Jesus LOVED her.  He LOVES her. SO MUCH that he laid down his life for her.  You can’t claim to love jesus and not love his people.  

1 John 4 says, If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Mark 12:41-42

Mark 12:43-44

His heart is always for His Father's House.

What is your faith in today?

The Locusts #4: The Bags of Silver

Matthew 25:14-30

1. How do you see God?

 Do I tithe on the gross amount from my paycheck, or the net?  The thing is…to ask that question, sure, for some it’s just about trying to be the most obedient, but I think USUALLY it’s about what’s the least I can get away with and still be “tithing”...

2. How are you managing God's stuff?

The bible calls us STEWARDS.  Stewardship is the job of supervising or taking care of something, such as an organization or property.

Spiritual Growth Questions:

1. How are you growing in your relationship with God?

2. …with people?

3. …with your influence with outsiders?

4. …in handling your resources?

3. How do you see blessings?

Rest is a once a week discipline. The sabbath day is a SEVERE rest discipline. Taking SERIOUS rest once a week, every single week, is the Biblical precedent. (And also taking LONG holiday vacations throughout the year to observe religious feasts and fasts and sacrifices…there were LOTS of holidays and rest days peppered throughout the Jewish calendar. It’s not just 52 sabbaths a year, but much more than that.) There are rhythms of rest in the Word.

“It is the duty of a man to render himself beneficial to those around him; to a great number if possible; but if this is denied him, to a few; to his intimate connections; or, at least, to himself.”

If you can’t take care of even yourSELF–how can God use you for more? If you can’t take care of your checkbook, your home, your children, your spouse, your body—why would God give you more?? Blessings are also responsibilities.

“7 In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.” 1 Peter 3:7

Did you know even your body is a resource for you? And how you treat it matters to God too

Notice, in this parable, we’re each given to accordingly to our abilities, but EACH servant was given something. It’s what we DID with it, that determined what else we were given.  

The Locusts #3: The Best Portion

Leviticus 23:10

Proverbs 3:9

Honor the Lord with your wealth…

Not the leftovers

Ezekiel 44:30

Turn back to God in gratitude

Genesis 4:3-5

James 1:17

Romans 11:16

1. Pray

2. Prepare

3. Prioritize

4. Give

5. Repeat

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9 WAYS TO PRAY FOR ISRAEL

• Pray for the peace of Israel, and for the preservation of life -- both Jews and Arabs
• Pray for Israel's Defense Force as they respond to the surprise attack.
• Pray for the protection of friends and families who have been called into the Reserves and who are preparing for a ground operation in Gaza.

• Pray for those who have been taken hostage, that they would be kept safe and rescued speedily.
• Pray that the barrage of rockets would stop and that the Lord would supernaturally protect Israel from missle attacks.
• Pray for those in the border communities around Gaza that are still in lockdown hiding from terrorists in their communities.

• Pray that hatred and incitement would cease and that the power of God's love would minister to hears and minds across Israel and Gaza.
• Pray that the body of Believers would find opportunities to provide hope to those who are suffering.
• Pray that God would shine His Light in the midst of a dark situation.

The Locusts #2: Where Is Your Treasure?

Passage: Luke 12:22-32 (NLT)

Filling the dirt back in to some treasure pits that we’ve dug

We all can have a divided heart. Even good things can become idols.

“Don’t be anxious!” We need to adopt Christ’s value system.

1. Do not worry about your life

     - You are valuable to God

     - We see OUR true value when we realign what we value.

     - It’s hard to find our value in Kingdom things when we can’t see the value Christ sees in us.

We often forget that God is God and He loves us. We’re too busy and get distracted to easily!! Make sure you take a proper Sabbath!!

Our perception of who God is can sometimes shape what we think of God’s provisions for us. Anything can be an idol and take the place of the Kingdom in our hearts.

There is no spiritual Switzerland. We are not the only missionaries out there! We are being pursued by other things.

2. It is your Father's great pleasure to give you the Kingdom

 Our THINGS possess our heart. When tragedy comes, do I think of THINGS or do I stand firm in Christ?

   - Our prayer has to be: God, I want to be remade - heal me of the sickness of idolatry, pride, greed, and divided heart. IT IS THE REALIGNMENT of focus in our approach to Jesus.

Getting your hearts deepest desire is often the worst thing that can happen to us. “God will give them over to their heart’s desires.” Where are the desires of your heart leading you?

Jesus taught more on greed than lust. None of us should assume we don’t have a greed problem.

We think God’s withholding the keys to the kingdom for us, when in reality we’re rejecting those keys and following other empty things.

3. Sell your possessions and give. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven.

     From generous hearts, generosity flows. We don’t get generosity from keeping our fists clenched and our arms crossed. Christ pours His blessings into pipes, not pots. It’s not a give-to-get, it’s a give-to-grow! “When you leave this earth, you can only take with you what you’ve GIVEN!”

- When we surrender our lives to Christ’s authority, we can’t lose 

Surrendering doesn’t always work out in our favor…but good! Our idea of favor is usually way off base.

All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live

I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee
My blessed Savior
I surrender all

All to Jesus I surrender
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine
Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit
Truly knowing that Thou art mine

I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee
My blessed Savior
I surrender all (ooh)

The Locusts #1: The Valley of Decision

Joel 1:1-20

God’s blessings aren’t only for YOU.

2 Corinthians 9:7-8

Give cheerfully.

Give cheerfully even when you have a need.

Joel 2:12-13

It's a heart issue, not a physical issue.

Joel 2:13-16

Don’t let the locusts:

1. …cause you to doubt who you are!

2. …make you doubt who He is.

Joel 3:14

The Waymaker #7: Testimony Weekend

1. Yatciri Cruz

2. Johnny & Cookie Steiner

3. Sandra Garcia

4. Yaritza Salazar

5. Brian & Sara Roth

6. Rosie Ashby

7. Lori Doudrick

8. Tim Edwards

9. Rich Randall

10.Regenia Yates & Brittany Smith

Matthew 5:14-16
14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

I know God is real because ___.
I know God is GOOD because _____.
And I know He loves me so much because _____.

What are your answers? If someone asked you how you know those things, what would be your response?

The Waymaker #6: The Snake in the Desert

Numbers 21:4-9

1. Approach Him with gratitude

Deut 8:15

2. Obedience = protection

3. God provided a way out…but not BACK.

4. It was the BELIEF in God’s WORD that was healing them.

The Waymaker #5: The Wine at the Wedding

John 2:1-11

Drunkenness Passages:

• Proverbs 20:1 - Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

• Ephesians 5:18 - And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.

• Romans 13:13 - Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

• Galatians 5:21 - Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

What did Mary do here, that we can learn from?

1. She presented her need to Jesus.

2. She put ALL her hope in Him.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

He responded with LOVE.

Matthew 4:23 “Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.”  

John 2:23 “Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him.”