Resistance

Resistance

SNIPPET

Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

SCRIPTURE

But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.  And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;  Acts 17:5,6 KJV

SONG

The Resistance by Skillet

https://youtu.be/jP_uUkBfCM4

[John Cooper & Jen Ledger:]

I am a nation, I am a million faces

Formed together, made for elevation

I am a soldier, I won't surrender

Faith is like a fire that never burns to embers

(Who's gonna stand up, who's gonna fight?)

The voice of the unheard

(Who's gonna break these chains and lies?)

Love is the answer

I gotta speak it, believe it, that's how I feel inside

I, I, can't, can't sit here quiet

[Jen Ledger:]

You can take my heart, you can take my breath

When you pry it from my cold, dead chest

[John Cooper:]

This is how we rise up

Heavy as a hurricane, louder than a freight train

This is how we rise up

Heart is beating faster, feels like thunder

Magic, static, call me a fanatic

It's our world, they can never have it

This is how we rise up

It's our resistance, you can't resist us

[John Cooper:]

Hey can you hear me? Hey, are you listening?

Sleeping in the shadows, could be making history

Walk through the fire, walk on the water

Used to be a slave, but now you are a conqueror

[Jen Ledger:]

They can take my heart, they can take my breath

When they pry it from my cold, dead chest

[John Cooper:]

This is how we rise up

Heavy as a hurricane, louder than a freight train

This is how we rise up

Heart is beating faster, feels like thunder

Magic, static, call me a fanatic

It's our world, they can never have it

This is how we rise up

It's our resistance, you can't resist us

[John Cooper & Jen Ledger:]

Up, up, up, up, up

We're rising up, up, up, up, up

The voice of the unheard

Rising up, up, up, up, up

We're rising up, up, up, up, up

Love is the answer

Rising up, up, up, up, up

We're rising up, up, up, up, up

Love is the answer

This is how we rise up

It's our resistance, you can't resist us

[John Cooper:]

This is how we rise up

Heavy as a hurricane, louder than a freight train

This is how we rise up

Heart is beating faster, feels like thunder

Magic, static, call me a fanatic

It's our world, they can never have it

This is how we rise up

It's our resistance, you can't resist us

SENTENCE PRAYER

Father; you have called us to resist the evil of this world, by loving the lost and by our blood.  By turning their hate for us, into love and sacrifice for Your Son Jesus.  As we love God will turn the world upside down.  May the enemies of God become the army of God!  Amen!  REM

Time in God's Word

Devotions for Word Sermon Series. January 18, 2017

Malcolm Gladwell, In his book the Outliers: The Story of Success wrote; “In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours.”  

This quote reminds of a Bible verse in Psalms 119:97 KJV O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.  Satan has deceived us into thinking the Bible is only understood by the preacher.  That if we only had a secret code of the Bible, we could unlock its mysteries.  The code is simple; it is spending ten thousand hours in the text.

I have people who say to me; I wish I knew the Bible like you do.  I humbly say thank you, but I think to myself of all the advantages I have.  As a preacher, I am forced to spend a substantial amount of time in the word each week to prepare a sermon.  The secret of knowing God and His word is spending time in their presence.

I have also known men and women in my life who have put my meditation of God's word to shame!  Why?  Once, again I confess that it is simple they have spent more time, practicing and meditation on God's truth.  In 1989, I was present at one of Don Dewelt's last revivals.  He preached without notes or the Bible;  because he knew the book of Acts by heart!

The secret of understanding God and his Word; is Time!

Painting God's Word

Devotions for Word Sermon Series. January 18, 2017


One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 28:13 KJV But the word


of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept


upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and


there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be


broken, and snared, and taken.


Inputting scripture is like painting the inside of your mind


with God’s colors, one brushstroke at a time. Just like


painting, there are multiple tools to apply God’s hues to your


life. We paint our minds with God’s paint by hearing,


reading, studying, meditating and memorization.


But the fuchsia pink precept of scripture is found in 1


Corinthians 7:18 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision


is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.


Unless obedience is practiced the colors of God will not

stain our life.

God of my address

Devotions for Word Sermon Series. January 17, 2017

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[b] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring. Acts 17:17,28 NIV

“This is one place where I think the Bible is so helpful. The world of the Bible is like your world—messy and broken. The people of the Bible are like you and your spouse—weak and failing. The situations of the Bible are like yours—complicated and unexpected. The Bible just isn’t a cosmetic religious book. It will shock you with its honesty about what happens in the broken world in which we live. From the sibling homicide of Cain to the money-driven betrayal of Judas, the blood and guts of a broken world are strewn across every page. The honesty of God about the address where we all live is itself an act of love and grace. He sticks our head through the biblical peephole so we will be forced to see the world as it really is, not as we fantasize it to be. He does this so that we will be realistic in our expectations, then humbly reach out for the help that he alone is able to give us.”

“The Bible says that God is near, so near that in your moment of need you can reach out and touch him because he is not far from each one of us (Acts 17:27). Yes, you live in a bad neighborhood (fallen world), and the two of you are less than perfect (sin), but in all this you are not left to your own resources. The God who determined your address lives there with you and is committed to giving you everything you need.”

Excerpt From: Paul David Tripp. “What Did You Expect?.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/gtPSv.l

The Middle

Devotions for Word Sermon Series. January 16, 2017

“There is a way that theologians think about life in the here and now that is very helpful and can impart to us realistic expectations. Everything we say and do, everything we commit ourselves to, and every situation, location, and relationship we experience is experienced between the already and the not yet. You will never understand the things you face every day until you understand that you live in the middle. Everything in your life is shaped by what the middle is like. Perhaps you’re thinking, “Paul, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Permit me to explain.

Knowing that you are living between the already and the not yet tells you where you are located in God’s story of redemption. Stay with me; this is intensely practical. Already God has given us his Word as our guide. Already he has sent his Son to live, die, and rise again for our salvation. Already he has given us his Spirit to live within us. But the world has not yet been restored. Sin has not yet been completely eradicated. We have not yet been formed in the perfect likeness of Jesus. Suffering, sadness, and death are not yet no more.

It is hard to live in the middle, but that is exactly where we live. We live in a world that is still sadly and terribly broken. Your marriage will not escape its brokenness. We live with “flawed people. Your marriage will not be protected from those flaws. When you start unpacking what life is really like between the already and the not yet, you gain perspectives that are enormously helpful for understanding the things you need to face if you want a marriage that is wholesome and healthy in the eyes of God.”

“Now, I know it sounds like a contradiction, but it isn’t. You actually can be prepared for things that you don’t yet know you will face. You can be ready for things that you had no idea would come your way. In fact, I am persuaded that this is one of the main functions of Scripture. It enables us to be prepared to decide, think, desire, act, and speak well in a world in which we aren’t sovereign. Here’s how it works: if we have taken in what the Bible says about God, ourselves, life, sin, and the surrounding world, we are ready to deal spontaneously with things we didn’t know we would be dealing with.”

Excerpt From: Paul David Tripp. “What Did You Expect?.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/gtPSv.l

God Means What he Says!

Devotions for Word Sermon Series. January 15, 2017 

God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.

Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help. Hebrews 4:12-16 Message.

Christianity has become quite comfortable. Coffee shops in church lobbies. Shuttles to the sanctuary from the parking lot on rainy days. Games to entertain our children in Sunday School. Fine. Good. Enjoy. 

But don’t be lulled to sleep. Don’t ever allow the lush settings of the culture to dull your alertness or curb the fighting edge needed to defeat your most formidable foe. Refuse to allow comfort and ease to make you apathetic, uninterested, and in some cases, unaware of the battle that is raging all around. 

The lazy days of Christian culture must come to an end. Starting today. Starting with you. Starting with us. 

 The Armor of God - Bible Study Book 

by Priscilla Shirer