Title: Love in a Perfect World
Date: October 17, 2008
Text: Song of Songs 2:7
Story
- "I stand by the bed where a young woman lies after an operation on her face, her mouth twisted. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth, has been severed. She will be thus from now on.
- I had followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh; I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek, I had to cut the little nerve.
- Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private. Who are they, I ask myself, he and this wry mouth I have made, who gaze at and touch each other so lovingly?
- The young woman speaks. "Will my mouth always be like this?" she asks.
- "Yes," I say, "it will. It is because the nerve was cut."
- She nods and is silent. But the young man smiles. "I like it," he says, "It is kind of cute."
- Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that their kiss still works" - Richard Selzer, M.D., Mortal Lessons: Notes on the Art of Surgery, 1978, pp. 45-6.
Introduction
- Love like this takes time to grow, it is a deep love that withstands storms
- We are used to getting what we want, now – 5 minutes waiting is too long
- And sure enough, we do get it now – we get an addiction after experimenting with our friends, we get poverty after gambling all our money at the casino, we get gonorrhea or syphilis or AIDS from our casual sex
- Now does not always work all that well
- God has better things for us, but it take time to get it right
- It takes a lifetime for our minds to be totally renewed
- Today we are going to be talking about a sensitive subject
- I am going to ask of you to treat this subject with the respect it deserves, because it can make a huge difference to your happiness after graduating from the program
- This morning we are going to look at a short video clip dealing with three Hebrew words: raya, ahava and dode
Video clip – Nooma #2 – Flame
- I love tacos and I love my wife
- The word love is used in different ways
- Three Hebrew words are used for love – three flames
- Raya – to love a friend, a companion, a soulmate – its core is friendship
- Ahava – a deep affection, desire to be with the other person with passion, would rather be with her than anywhere else – it is as strong as death, can’t be quenched – it is a decision to join two lives – it is not a fleeting feeling – it makes things last
- Dode – means to arouse, rock, fondle, drink – equivalent to greek word eros meaning erotic love
- When a man and a woman get together, all three forms of love are united – a picture of a deeper spiritual reality
- Sex is ultimately spiritual, meant to endure forever
- But so often we want the whole bonfire, made up of all three flames, from just the dode flame on its own
- When you separate the flames it does not satisfy
- True sexuality is more than just a body experience
- When it is time for us to explore this territory, we want the full experience, not a cheap shortcut
- True love is a precious thing, it endures for a lifetime
- SoS 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly despised
- So often we may be satisfied with momentary dode love, the sexual love
- But dode love on its own, outside of the context of marriage, is sinful
- When I first married, I had known my wife for four years
- We were close friends, but without having become involved romantically
- We supported each other through things that happened in our individual lives, and we were there for each other
- Leni was my best friend
- I got to know Leni while I was living in Holland
- We met on the train, going to church
- It was not time for us to marry – it was a time for RAYA
- I was 26 but my emotions were still messed up from my past
- I recognized my problems, at least partially
- And I respected Leni
- I did not want to accelerate our friendship into romance until we were ready for it
- SoS 2:7 “I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases.”
- We could have been married right away, but then we would probably have ended up as one more painful divorce statistic
- We waited till the time seemed right, after having been close friends for 4 years
- Then one weekend I suddenly saw Leni in a new light
- We danced one night and it was as though we were meant for each other, it was so perfect – AHAVA had arrived
- We counseled with our minister and after an engagement period of 6 months, we were married
- I have no regrets about how we did things
- We had our ups and downs
- I believe my past intruded into our marriage and it caused trouble in our relationship
- But because we respected each other and had a solid RAYA foundation, we were able to weather the storms
- Here in the program is not the time to experiment with building relationships
- There is a time and a place for everything
- Now is the time to focus on getting your life sorted out, so that you can be the right husband or wife, so your past will no longer have such a big impact on your future marriage
- Later on, when we ask God to lead us to the right person, we will meet that special someone with whom you want to spend the rest of your life
- Take time, savor the experience
- Enjoy the time of friendship, get to know each other in all kinds of situations
- Build that RAYA experience
- And one day you will recognize that the AHAVA flame has ignited
- This takes you down a road to the time when DODE comes along on your wedding night, when you are able to give all of yourself to the other person, not holding anything back
- Not having all kinds of images in your mind of former casual partners, of quick sordid actions in the dark
- Loving your partner with all your heart mind and soul
- Be patient, the day will come for you when you can meet the person of your dreams and have a huge bonfire relationship, when all three flames come together as one
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Love in a Perfect World - Song of Solomon 2:7, 8:7
Title: Love in a Perfect World
Date: February 19, 2008
Text: Song of Songs 2:7, 8:7
STORY
- I stand by the bed where a young woman lies after an operation on her face, her mouth twisted. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth, has been severed. She will be thus from now on.
- I had followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh; I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek, I had to cut the little nerve.
- Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private. Who are they, I ask myself, he and this wry mouth I have made, who gaze at and touch each other so lovingly?
- The young woman speaks. "Will my mouth always be like this?" she asks.
- "Yes," I say, "it will. It is because the nerve was cut."
- She nods and is silent. But the young man smiles. "I like it," he says, "It is kind of cute."
- Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that their kiss still works.
(Adapted from Richard Selzer, M.D., Mortal Lessons: Notes on the Art of Surgery, 1978, pp. 45-6).
INTRODUCTION
- Love like this takes time to grow, it is a deep love that withstands storms
- We are used to getting what we want, now – 5 minutes waiting is too long
- And sure enough, we do get it now – we get an addiction after experimenting with our friends, we get poverty after gambling all our money at the casino, we get gonorrhea or syphilis or AIDS from our casual sex
- Now does not always work all that well
- God has better things for us, but it take time to get it right
- It takes a lifetime for our minds to be totally renewed
- Today we are going to be talking about a sensitive subject
- I am going to ask of you to treat this subject with the respect it deserves, because it can make a huge difference to your happiness after graduating from the program
- This morning we are going to look at three Hebrew words: raya, ahava and dode
Three words of love
- I love tacos and I love my wife
- The word love is used in different ways
- Three Hebrew words are used for love – three flames
- Raya – to love a friend, a companion, a soulmate – its core is friendship
- Ahava – a deep affection, desire to be with the other person with passion, would rather be with her than anywhere else – it is as strong as death, can’t be quenched – it is a decision to join two lives – it is not a fleeting feeling – it makes things last
- Dode – means to arouse, rock, fondle, drink – equivalent to greek word eros meaning erotic love
- When a man and a woman get together, all three forms of love are united – a picture of a deeper spiritual reality
- Sex is ultimately spiritual, meant to endure forever
- But so often we want the whole bonfire, made up of all three flames, from just the dode flame on its own
- When you separate the flames it does not satisfy
- True sexuality is more than just a body experience
- When it is time for us to explore this territory, we want the full experience, not a cheap shortcut
Treasure love
- True love is a precious thing, it endures for a lifetime
- SoS 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly despised
- So often we may be satisfied with momentary dode love, the sexual love
- But dode love on its own, outside of the context of marriage, is sinful
- When I first married, I had known my wife for four years
- We were close friends, but without having become involved romantically
- We supported each other through things that happened in our individual lives, and we were there for each other
- Leni was my best friend
- I got to know Leni while I was living in Holland
- We met on the train, going to church
- It was not time for us to marry – it was a time for RAYA
- I was 26 but my emotions were still messed up from my past
- I recognized my problems, at least partially
- And I respected Leni
- I did not want to accelerate our friendship into romance until we were ready for it
- SoS 2:7 “I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases.”
- We could have been married right away, but then we would probably have ended up as one more painful divorce statistic
- We waited till the time seemed right, after having been close friends for 4 years
- Then one weekend I suddenly saw Leni in a new light
- We danced one night and it was as though we were meant for each other, it was so perfect – AHAVA had arrived
- We counseled with our minister and after an engagement period of 6 months, we were married
- I have no regrets about how we did things
- We had our ups and downs
- I believe my past intruded into our marriage and it caused trouble in our relationship
- But because we respected each other and had a solid RAYA foundation, we were able to weather the storms
A time and a place
- Here in the program is not the time to experiment with building relationships
- There is a time and a place for everything
- Now is the time to focus on getting your life sorted out, so that you can be the right husband or wife, so your past will no longer have such a big impact on your future marriage
- Later on, when we ask God to lead us to the right person, we will meet that special someone with whom you want to spend the rest of your life
- Take time, savor the experience
- Enjoy the time of friendship, get to know each other in all kinds of situations
- Build that RAYA experience
- And one day you will recognize that the AHAVA flame has ignited
- This takes you down a road to the time when DODE comes along on your wedding night, when you are able to give all of yourself to the other person, not holding anything back
- Not having all kinds of images in your mind of former casual partners, of quick sordid actions in the dark
- Loving your partner with all your heart mind and soul
- Be patient, the day will come for you when you can meet the person of your dreams and have a huge bonfire relationship, when all three flames come together as one
Date: February 19, 2008
Text: Song of Songs 2:7, 8:7
STORY
- I stand by the bed where a young woman lies after an operation on her face, her mouth twisted. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth, has been severed. She will be thus from now on.
- I had followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh; I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek, I had to cut the little nerve.
- Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private. Who are they, I ask myself, he and this wry mouth I have made, who gaze at and touch each other so lovingly?
- The young woman speaks. "Will my mouth always be like this?" she asks.
- "Yes," I say, "it will. It is because the nerve was cut."
- She nods and is silent. But the young man smiles. "I like it," he says, "It is kind of cute."
- Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that their kiss still works.
(Adapted from Richard Selzer, M.D., Mortal Lessons: Notes on the Art of Surgery, 1978, pp. 45-6).
INTRODUCTION
- Love like this takes time to grow, it is a deep love that withstands storms
- We are used to getting what we want, now – 5 minutes waiting is too long
- And sure enough, we do get it now – we get an addiction after experimenting with our friends, we get poverty after gambling all our money at the casino, we get gonorrhea or syphilis or AIDS from our casual sex
- Now does not always work all that well
- God has better things for us, but it take time to get it right
- It takes a lifetime for our minds to be totally renewed
- Today we are going to be talking about a sensitive subject
- I am going to ask of you to treat this subject with the respect it deserves, because it can make a huge difference to your happiness after graduating from the program
- This morning we are going to look at three Hebrew words: raya, ahava and dode
Three words of love
- I love tacos and I love my wife
- The word love is used in different ways
- Three Hebrew words are used for love – three flames
- Raya – to love a friend, a companion, a soulmate – its core is friendship
- Ahava – a deep affection, desire to be with the other person with passion, would rather be with her than anywhere else – it is as strong as death, can’t be quenched – it is a decision to join two lives – it is not a fleeting feeling – it makes things last
- Dode – means to arouse, rock, fondle, drink – equivalent to greek word eros meaning erotic love
- When a man and a woman get together, all three forms of love are united – a picture of a deeper spiritual reality
- Sex is ultimately spiritual, meant to endure forever
- But so often we want the whole bonfire, made up of all three flames, from just the dode flame on its own
- When you separate the flames it does not satisfy
- True sexuality is more than just a body experience
- When it is time for us to explore this territory, we want the full experience, not a cheap shortcut
Treasure love
- True love is a precious thing, it endures for a lifetime
- SoS 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly despised
- So often we may be satisfied with momentary dode love, the sexual love
- But dode love on its own, outside of the context of marriage, is sinful
- When I first married, I had known my wife for four years
- We were close friends, but without having become involved romantically
- We supported each other through things that happened in our individual lives, and we were there for each other
- Leni was my best friend
- I got to know Leni while I was living in Holland
- We met on the train, going to church
- It was not time for us to marry – it was a time for RAYA
- I was 26 but my emotions were still messed up from my past
- I recognized my problems, at least partially
- And I respected Leni
- I did not want to accelerate our friendship into romance until we were ready for it
- SoS 2:7 “I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases.”
- We could have been married right away, but then we would probably have ended up as one more painful divorce statistic
- We waited till the time seemed right, after having been close friends for 4 years
- Then one weekend I suddenly saw Leni in a new light
- We danced one night and it was as though we were meant for each other, it was so perfect – AHAVA had arrived
- We counseled with our minister and after an engagement period of 6 months, we were married
- I have no regrets about how we did things
- We had our ups and downs
- I believe my past intruded into our marriage and it caused trouble in our relationship
- But because we respected each other and had a solid RAYA foundation, we were able to weather the storms
A time and a place
- Here in the program is not the time to experiment with building relationships
- There is a time and a place for everything
- Now is the time to focus on getting your life sorted out, so that you can be the right husband or wife, so your past will no longer have such a big impact on your future marriage
- Later on, when we ask God to lead us to the right person, we will meet that special someone with whom you want to spend the rest of your life
- Take time, savor the experience
- Enjoy the time of friendship, get to know each other in all kinds of situations
- Build that RAYA experience
- And one day you will recognize that the AHAVA flame has ignited
- This takes you down a road to the time when DODE comes along on your wedding night, when you are able to give all of yourself to the other person, not holding anything back
- Not having all kinds of images in your mind of former casual partners, of quick sordid actions in the dark
- Loving your partner with all your heart mind and soul
- Be patient, the day will come for you when you can meet the person of your dreams and have a huge bonfire relationship, when all three flames come together as one
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Allowing God to direct your life - Proverbs 3:5-6
Title: Allowing God to direct your life
Date: February 17, 2008
Text: Proverbs 3:5-6
Story
- I want to tell the story of homeless man at In-and-Out in Carson City
- Visited the restaurant while we were on a drive down through the Carson Valley
- Dianne and I had just ordered our meal
- Saw the homeless man sitting there with just a small cup of water - I felt a prompting to go buy him a meal - At the same time, Dianne said, let’s buy that man a meal
- So Dianne went and found a seat and I went up to the man and asked if he would like something to eat
- He said yes, he hadn’t eaten all day
- I asked what he would like, went to the counter and placed the order - Then I gave him the slip to claim his food
- I went back to Dianne with our own meal, only a lady was sitting there with her
- This lady had come up to Dianne, all remorseful, and told her that the Lord had told her to give that man a meal
- But she had felt uncomfortable at the idea of her as a lady on her own, talking to the homeless man
- Dianne said, that’s OK, God got it sorted out anyway, and the man now had a meal
- The lady then said, but you don’t understand, I am a pastor
- Dianne replied, so are we
- The lady then said, I am a pastor in the Foursquare denomination
- Dianne was amazed and said, so are we!
- The odds against this happening were amazing!
- This lady was the pastor of a small church up in the mountains, and she was just on her way back after a visit to family in Winnemucca
- In her church was a group of ladies knitting hats and scarves, but they did not know what to use them for
- Dianne told her about our homeless ministry, and the lady offered to send us the hats and scarves, for the homeless
- 2 weeks ago there was a large box sitting on our doorstep, full of hats and scarves
- We handed them out last Sunday, down at the river, along Galletti Way
- (Show samples of hats and scarves)
- This is an example of following God’s direction
- Prov 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
1. Trust in the Lord with all your heart – v.5
- Trust in the Lord
- Trusting someone else can be difficult
- We have learned not to trust
- Man has let us down
- We all have feet of clay
- All of us have inherited the sinful nature that came as a result of the fall
- Psalm 146:3 and 118:8 say not to put our trust in man
- But 1 Cor 10:13 tells us “God is faithful”
- We can trust our maker
- Num 23:19 God is not a man that he should lie
- With all your heart
- With all your heart means total surrender
- When we first accept Jesus we give him our all
- But then the world encroaches on our life
- Bit by bit our first love starts to cool down
- We need to continually turn back to God and get that fire that we had at the start
- Acts 13:22 David a man after God’s own heart – he made big mistakes but he was totally surrendered to God
- James 1:8 God wants us to trust him, with all our heart, not half-heartedly
2. Lean not on your own understanding – v.5
- It often seems like something unusual
- It doesn’t make sense to go feed a homeless person
- We don’t associate with them, we can’t spare the money, all kinds of excuses
- God says, just go and do it! Just be obedient
- We need God’s direction in our lives
- But sometimes that direction does not make sense
- Genesis 12 - Like when God told Abraham to leave home and travel to an undetermined destination
- Abraham didn’t argue the point – he just went and did it – he was obedient
- So when you have an inner prompting to do something or say something, that is OK per the Bible, even if it seems strange, it may be from the Lord
- Don’t lean on your own understanding
3. In all your ways acknowledge him – v.6
- In everything you do, involve God
- This means walking closely with him
- When you rise in the morning, spend time with him
- Ask him for direction for the day, to guide your steps and use you as he sees fit
- Be aware that he may have assignments for you and be aware of promptings he gives you
- He won’t tell you to go and stab someone in the back, or steal from someone, or lust after someone
- The thoughts we have can be influenced from three other sources – our own mind, society, and even the enemy
- The things God says will be approved by his Word the Bible
- So you need to test your thoughts, is this something God would say and approve of - Isaiah 8:20
- Involve God in all you do, have a prayerful relationship with him
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – pray continually
4. He will direct your paths – v.6
- Then we are promised that God will direct our paths
- God starts with the little things
- He says that if we are faithful in little, we will be faithful also in much - Luke 16:10
- So if we show God we are faithful in small assignments such as feeding a homeless person, he will give us other things to do
- He tells us he will direct our paths - This means he will give us direction
- That direction may be for an immediate event
- On the other hand it may be direction for our life’s goals
- I often hear from people, how do I know what God’s purpose is for my life
- God’s purpose for us is described in Micah 6:8 – to walk humbly with your God
- When we do this, he will show us the way to go – he will direct our paths
Communion
- Sometimes that path is not where we would want to go
- Jesus is the supreme example of this
- Luke 22:42 - In the garden of Gethsemane he prayed to the Father, if it would be possible to not have to go through with the crucifixion
- Yet he said to the Father, yet not my will but yours be done
- Just an hour or so before, he sat down with the disciples and performed a ceremony with them which would remind them of the most important aspect of his ministry
- Luke 22:17-20 “Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
Date: February 17, 2008
Text: Proverbs 3:5-6
Story
- I want to tell the story of homeless man at In-and-Out in Carson City
- Visited the restaurant while we were on a drive down through the Carson Valley
- Dianne and I had just ordered our meal
- Saw the homeless man sitting there with just a small cup of water - I felt a prompting to go buy him a meal - At the same time, Dianne said, let’s buy that man a meal
- So Dianne went and found a seat and I went up to the man and asked if he would like something to eat
- He said yes, he hadn’t eaten all day
- I asked what he would like, went to the counter and placed the order - Then I gave him the slip to claim his food
- I went back to Dianne with our own meal, only a lady was sitting there with her
- This lady had come up to Dianne, all remorseful, and told her that the Lord had told her to give that man a meal
- But she had felt uncomfortable at the idea of her as a lady on her own, talking to the homeless man
- Dianne said, that’s OK, God got it sorted out anyway, and the man now had a meal
- The lady then said, but you don’t understand, I am a pastor
- Dianne replied, so are we
- The lady then said, I am a pastor in the Foursquare denomination
- Dianne was amazed and said, so are we!
- The odds against this happening were amazing!
- This lady was the pastor of a small church up in the mountains, and she was just on her way back after a visit to family in Winnemucca
- In her church was a group of ladies knitting hats and scarves, but they did not know what to use them for
- Dianne told her about our homeless ministry, and the lady offered to send us the hats and scarves, for the homeless
- 2 weeks ago there was a large box sitting on our doorstep, full of hats and scarves
- We handed them out last Sunday, down at the river, along Galletti Way
- (Show samples of hats and scarves)
- This is an example of following God’s direction
- Prov 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
1. Trust in the Lord with all your heart – v.5
- Trust in the Lord
- Trusting someone else can be difficult
- We have learned not to trust
- Man has let us down
- We all have feet of clay
- All of us have inherited the sinful nature that came as a result of the fall
- Psalm 146:3 and 118:8 say not to put our trust in man
- But 1 Cor 10:13 tells us “God is faithful”
- We can trust our maker
- Num 23:19 God is not a man that he should lie
- With all your heart
- With all your heart means total surrender
- When we first accept Jesus we give him our all
- But then the world encroaches on our life
- Bit by bit our first love starts to cool down
- We need to continually turn back to God and get that fire that we had at the start
- Acts 13:22 David a man after God’s own heart – he made big mistakes but he was totally surrendered to God
- James 1:8 God wants us to trust him, with all our heart, not half-heartedly
2. Lean not on your own understanding – v.5
- It often seems like something unusual
- It doesn’t make sense to go feed a homeless person
- We don’t associate with them, we can’t spare the money, all kinds of excuses
- God says, just go and do it! Just be obedient
- We need God’s direction in our lives
- But sometimes that direction does not make sense
- Genesis 12 - Like when God told Abraham to leave home and travel to an undetermined destination
- Abraham didn’t argue the point – he just went and did it – he was obedient
- So when you have an inner prompting to do something or say something, that is OK per the Bible, even if it seems strange, it may be from the Lord
- Don’t lean on your own understanding
3. In all your ways acknowledge him – v.6
- In everything you do, involve God
- This means walking closely with him
- When you rise in the morning, spend time with him
- Ask him for direction for the day, to guide your steps and use you as he sees fit
- Be aware that he may have assignments for you and be aware of promptings he gives you
- He won’t tell you to go and stab someone in the back, or steal from someone, or lust after someone
- The thoughts we have can be influenced from three other sources – our own mind, society, and even the enemy
- The things God says will be approved by his Word the Bible
- So you need to test your thoughts, is this something God would say and approve of - Isaiah 8:20
- Involve God in all you do, have a prayerful relationship with him
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – pray continually
4. He will direct your paths – v.6
- Then we are promised that God will direct our paths
- God starts with the little things
- He says that if we are faithful in little, we will be faithful also in much - Luke 16:10
- So if we show God we are faithful in small assignments such as feeding a homeless person, he will give us other things to do
- He tells us he will direct our paths - This means he will give us direction
- That direction may be for an immediate event
- On the other hand it may be direction for our life’s goals
- I often hear from people, how do I know what God’s purpose is for my life
- God’s purpose for us is described in Micah 6:8 – to walk humbly with your God
- When we do this, he will show us the way to go – he will direct our paths
Communion
- Sometimes that path is not where we would want to go
- Jesus is the supreme example of this
- Luke 22:42 - In the garden of Gethsemane he prayed to the Father, if it would be possible to not have to go through with the crucifixion
- Yet he said to the Father, yet not my will but yours be done
- Just an hour or so before, he sat down with the disciples and performed a ceremony with them which would remind them of the most important aspect of his ministry
- Luke 22:17-20 “Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Joy in Trials - James 1:2-4
Title: Joy in trials
Date: February 10, 2008
Text: James 1:2-4
Introduction
- As we go through life there will be good days and bad days, good experiences and bad experiences
- Maybe you are going through some hard times right now
- Here at the mission there are many opportunities to go through difficulties, just because we are in such close proximity to each other
- Maybe your hard patch is because of family situations
- Maybe your wife has told you she is giving up on you, or you may never see your children again - Maybe your area of need is in finances, you just don’t know how you are going to be able to survive, after graduating from this program
- We all have our own particular point at which we wonder how we will ever get through the trial - James tells us in his letter in the NT, about the purpose for trials in our life
- And he starts off by telling us to be joyful during our hard times!
1. Consider it pure joy – verse 2
- James 1:2 – consider it pure joy
- Hard to understand
- Perspective of being in God’s hands
- Eph 2:10 - We are his workmanship
- Isa 64:8 - You are the potter, we are the clay
- Learning to trust God
- Psa 37:7 - Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him
- Amplified Bible “Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass”
2. Testing develops perseverance – verse 3
- As we go through trials, and persevere, God is doing something inside us
- We are learning to trust him and depend on him
- He is shaping us and preparing us for his purpose
- 1 Kings 6:7 - Stones of the temple were shaped off-site, yet fitted perfectly – Solomon’s quarries under Jerusalem
- Eph 4:16 - What every joint supplies
- We stand together, supporting each other
- Particularly while we are going through trials
3. Perseverance makes us complete and mature – verse 4
- We are used to living for the moment
- We don’t like the idea of preparing for retirement
- God looks at things from an eternal perspective
- Though we cannot see beyond this life, he is preparing us for a glorious future
- 1 Cor 2:9 – eye has not seen nor ear heard
Conclusion
- 2 Cor 4:17 - Exceeding weight of glory
- 2 Tim 4:8 - Laid up for me a crown of righteousness
- As we go through trials, learn to look at it from God’s perspective
- We are in his hands, he will not let us fall
- 1 Cor 10:13 – he will provide a way for us to stand up under the trial
- So don’t be praying for the trial to be taken away – oh woe is me
- Instead, pray that we might learn the lesson and thank God that he is working in our life
- Look forward to the future when all this will be done, complete, and we can move on to the purpose for which we have been made
Date: February 10, 2008
Text: James 1:2-4
Introduction
- As we go through life there will be good days and bad days, good experiences and bad experiences
- Maybe you are going through some hard times right now
- Here at the mission there are many opportunities to go through difficulties, just because we are in such close proximity to each other
- Maybe your hard patch is because of family situations
- Maybe your wife has told you she is giving up on you, or you may never see your children again - Maybe your area of need is in finances, you just don’t know how you are going to be able to survive, after graduating from this program
- We all have our own particular point at which we wonder how we will ever get through the trial - James tells us in his letter in the NT, about the purpose for trials in our life
- And he starts off by telling us to be joyful during our hard times!
1. Consider it pure joy – verse 2
- James 1:2 – consider it pure joy
- Hard to understand
- Perspective of being in God’s hands
- Eph 2:10 - We are his workmanship
- Isa 64:8 - You are the potter, we are the clay
- Learning to trust God
- Psa 37:7 - Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him
- Amplified Bible “Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass”
2. Testing develops perseverance – verse 3
- As we go through trials, and persevere, God is doing something inside us
- We are learning to trust him and depend on him
- He is shaping us and preparing us for his purpose
- 1 Kings 6:7 - Stones of the temple were shaped off-site, yet fitted perfectly – Solomon’s quarries under Jerusalem
- Eph 4:16 - What every joint supplies
- We stand together, supporting each other
- Particularly while we are going through trials
3. Perseverance makes us complete and mature – verse 4
- We are used to living for the moment
- We don’t like the idea of preparing for retirement
- God looks at things from an eternal perspective
- Though we cannot see beyond this life, he is preparing us for a glorious future
- 1 Cor 2:9 – eye has not seen nor ear heard
Conclusion
- 2 Cor 4:17 - Exceeding weight of glory
- 2 Tim 4:8 - Laid up for me a crown of righteousness
- As we go through trials, learn to look at it from God’s perspective
- We are in his hands, he will not let us fall
- 1 Cor 10:13 – he will provide a way for us to stand up under the trial
- So don’t be praying for the trial to be taken away – oh woe is me
- Instead, pray that we might learn the lesson and thank God that he is working in our life
- Look forward to the future when all this will be done, complete, and we can move on to the purpose for which we have been made
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