Jeremiah 6:14 “They dress the wound of my people AS THOUGH IT WERE NOT SERIOUS. ʻPeace, peace,ʼ they say, when there is no peace.”
Ephesians 4:26-27 “In your anger do not sin: DO NOT LET THE SUN GO DOWN WHILE YOU ARE STILL ANGRY, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
2. You can’t win the battle on the OUTSIDE until you face the battles on the INSIDE.
Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, or they will be comforted.
If you don’t identify your losses your losses will become your identity
3.You don’t have to fight alone
Ecclesiastes 4:8 “There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
“and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
a miserable business! 9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. “
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Scene 1 : the team comes in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lItXgmjKekQ
1. It’s hard to fly FORWARD if you are tied down by your PAST.
Luke 22:54-62 “Then seizing him, they led Jesus away and took Him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance but when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them.” A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, "This man was with him." But he denied it. "Woman, I don't know him," he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them." "Man, I am not!" Peter replied. About an hour later another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean." Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and WEPT BITTERLY.
But Jesus didn’t name Peter for what he DID, He named him for who he would BECOME.
He didn’t name him for his FAILURE but for his FUTURE!
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a NEW PERSON. The old life is GONE; a NEW LIFE has begun!”
3. Your BIGGEST SINS are not too big for GOD’S GRACE!
John 21:15 “Jesus said, “Simon Peter, Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” AGAIN Jesus said, Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.” And Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” THE THIRD TIME, He said to him, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me? “Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you.”
I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, (God) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Romans 8:1 “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Scene 3: Time to let Go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DttVBf3m7sc
Joshua 1: 3 “I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘WHEREVER YOU SET YOUR FOOT, you will be on land I have given you.”
1. Faith steps usually raise uncertainty
Genesis 12:1 “God told Abram: “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you. 2-3 I’ll make you a great nation and bless you. I’ll make you famous; you’ll be a blessing. I’ll bless those who bless you; those who curse you I’ll curse. All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you.”
Hebrews 11:8 “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going”
2. Faith steps often release miracles John 10:10 “thief comes to steal kill and destroy”
Joshua 1:8 “Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”
Verse 14 “as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam”
Verse 17 “The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.”
3. Faith steps always require faith
Mark 16:20 “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.”
Joshua 3:15-16 “Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam”
Numbers 6:24-26 May the Lord bless you and keep you,
May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you
May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace
What’s the key to God’s blessing? Relationship with God Genesis 28:16 “Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”” Genesis 32:26 “Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.””
Restoration with people
Genesis 33:10 “And what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God!”
The blessing is not just for you
Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
Luke 24:50 “Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting up his hands to heaven, he blessed them.”
2 Peter 1:2-11 “But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do. 6 Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. 7 This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply. 8 The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ..”
2 Peter 1:8-11 “The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But anyone who fails to go after these additions to faith is blind indeed, or at least very shortsighted and has forgotten that God delivered him from the old life of sin so that now he can live a strong, good life for the Lord. 10 So, dear brothers, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen, and then you will never stumble or fall away. 11 And God will open wide the gates of heaven for you to enter into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
THE FAITHFUL LEVEL. 1. Faithfulness means choosing the IMPORTANT over the URGENT. Matthew 25:16-18 “The man who had received five bags of gold WENT AT ONCE and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.”
2. Faithfulness means choosing the PAIN OF DISCIPLINE over the PAIN OF REGRET. Matthew 25:16 (NCV) “The servant who got five bags went quickly to INVEST the money and earned five more bags.”
Hebrews 12:11 “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. LATER ON, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Faithful people chose the important over the urgent Faithful people chose the pain of discipline over the pain of regret. 3. Faithfulness means choosing the RISK OF PROGRESS over the SAFETY OF PROTECTION.
Matthew 25:24-25 MSG “The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’ “The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to LIVE CAUTIOUSLY like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.”
Hebrews 11:6 “And without FAITH it is impossible to please God.”
4. Faithfulness means choosing TRUST over FEAR.
Matthew 25:25 “I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground.”
Matthew 25:24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
Level Up Part 4 Level 5: Community 2 Peter 1:2-7LB “Do you want more and more of God’s kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better. 3 For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us! 4 And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character. But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do. 6 Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. 7 This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply. The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:5 “But to obtain these gifts (levels), you need more than faith”
Genesis 2:18 “It is not good for man to be alone…”
Genesis 2:18b “I will create a helper suitable for him.”
Genesis 1:18 “Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it.”
2 Peter 1:5-7 “But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do. 6 Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. 7 This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply. The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ.
3 levels of community. 1. ENJOY them 2 Peter 1: 7 “This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people.”
Hebrews 10:24-25 “ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
2. LIKE PEOPLE 2 Peter 1: 7 'this will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them”
3. LOVE THEM 2 Peter 1: 7 “This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply.”
