37 | Do Hard Things

More than Enough

Matthew 12:33-37 “Either assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. 35 The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. 36 But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Our words reveal our heart.  Attack #1: He does good but he’s not good (He’s good but he’s not God.) What we learn about Jesus:  1. He not only does good. He is good. 2. He is good. We are not.  Romans 3:10-12 10 as it is written: “There is no righteous person, not even one; 11 There is no one who understands, There is no one who seeks out God; 12 They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, There is not even one.” 3. He’s not only good. He’s gracious.  Romans 10:9-10 9 if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  What do your words say about your heart? Psalm 19:14 14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. Matthew 12:38-42 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign; and so no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. Attack #2: If he’s the Messiah, he should prove it. (If he’s real then why ______).  Response: He’s done more than enough. 1 Kings 10:6-9 6 Then she said to the king, “It was a true story that I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7 But I did not believe the stories until I came and my own eyes saw it all. And behold, the half of it was not reported to me. You have exceeded in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. 8 Blessed are your men, and blessed are these servants of yours who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to put you on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loves Israel forever, He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” Matthew 12:43-50 “Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.” 46 While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 [Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] 48 But Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” 49 And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.” Attack #3: I don’t need Jesus to be a good person.  Response: Morality without Jesus is empty.  Not only did he save us… he adopted us.

40 | Keep Calm and Carry On

Acts 23 & 24 | Keep Calm and Carry On -- Slides: Paul’s mission: Acts 9:15 - But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; “Take Courage” - Matt. 9:2 And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven." - Matt. 9:22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." At once the woman was made well. - Matt. 14:27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." - John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation but take courage; I have overcome the world." Acts 18:9-10 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid [any longer,] but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city." How do we keep calm and carry on when we feel stuck? - Go back to what God has already told you. Acts 9:15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; Acts 23:11 But on the night [immediately] following, the Lord stood at his side and said, "Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also." How do we keep calm and carry on when we feel stuck? - Trust in the sovereignty and sufficiency of God. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Genesis 45:8 "Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. How do we keep calm and carry on when we feel stuck? - View your life through spiritual (not natural) lenses. Acts 18:9-10 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid [any longer,] but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city." Acts 23:11 But on the night [immediately] following, the Lord stood at his side and said, "Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also." Ephesians 6:12-13 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual [forces] of wickedness in the heavenly [places.] 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. How do we keep calm and carry on when we feel stuck? - Cling to God’s promises!

39 | Fail Like You Mean It

Acts 23:1-11 | Fail Like You Mean It -- Slides: Titus 1:15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.  Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.  Luke 11:39 But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.  Romans 13:1-2 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.  Acts 5:27-29 When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, saying, "We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man's blood upon us." But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.  1 Samuel 15:22 Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, [And] to heed than the fat of rams.  Ezekiel 2:4-7 "I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' "As for them, whether they listen or not--for they are a rebellious house--they will know that a prophet has been among them. "And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. "But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.  “There is more for you to do” brings joy to a faithful servant, but grieves the lazy servant...  Do we understand our new identity in Christ?  2 Corinthians 5:16-17 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.   Romans 8:14-15 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!"  How are we measuring our life?  Psalm 147:10-11 He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness. Hosea 6:6 “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice” (ESV) OR “For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice” (NASB)  Philippians 3:7-8 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ...

38 | Shoot Your Shot

Acts 21:15-22:30 | Shoot Your Shot -- Slides:   Romans 14:5-6, 10 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day [alike.] Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. ... 10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.   Acts 19:32  So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together.   James 3:16  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.   Romans 9:1-3  I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, [separated] from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh,   "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."   God has always had a heart for the nations: • [Gen 12:3 NASB95] 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."   God has always had a heart for the nations: • [Psa 67:1-2, 7 NASB95] 1 For the choir director; with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song. God be gracious to us and bless us, [And] cause His face to shine upon us-- Selah. 2 That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations. ... 7 God blesses us, That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.   God has always had a heart for the nations: • Isa. 56:7(b) For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."   God has always had a heart for the nations: • Matt. 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."   God has always had a heart for the nations: • Rev. 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood [men] from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 "You have made them [to be] a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."   Job 13:15(a)  "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.”

37 | Do Hard Things

Acts 21:1-14 | Do Hard Things -- Slides:   Look at prophecy in the same way you study Scripture: • Observation – What did God say? • Interpretation – What did God mean? • Application – What does He want me to do?   Do Hard Things: • We need friends to do hard things.   Proverbs 17:17  A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.   John 15:12-15 "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14 "You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15 "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.   Do Hard Things: • A sense of your calling prepares you to do hard things.   Acts 9:15  But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake."   Matthew 16:24-27 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.