(This sermon and sermon notes are from Sunday, October 6th. I wasn't able to post it until today, Saturday, October 12th. I'll post tomorrow's sermon tomorrow. The following sermon was a really good sermon. I hope you get a chance to listen to it.)

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake." Psalm 23:1-3

God is constantly trying to restore us. Always. He's the God of restoration.

The whole world awaits restoration.

"For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[a] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." Romans 8:19-22

Why do we need restoring?

1. Willful neglect. It will fall apart. Our souls get the same way. If we don't do the regular maintenance our souls need they will fall apart. Do we expose it to the world?
        Temptation -- the devil and his demons constantly looking to tear us down. Can steal our fruit and testimony.

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6

Sheep are the most frustrating animals. They will stray. They fight their own best interests.We humans do the same thing. We will do things we know will damage us. God knows this. He knows sin would pull us from Him. David kept coming back to God (that is what we need to do). He accepted his sin and repented and came back to God. Surrender to temptation is a choice. 

2. Restoration from Complacency.  Complacent until loss occurs (physical, emotional or spiritual).  Shock of loss will do great damage to us if we aren't close to God.

"Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy." John 16:20

The world will go on partying even when you have great loss. The difference is coping or hoping.

No one can restore something better than the original creator. Going back to the Creator for our restoration makes sense. There is no restoration without God.

The world tells us to cope. God tells us to hope. 

Everyday we are one day closer to death.  

Don't hold onto decay.

"What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" Mark 8:36

You can't buy salvation. God didn't heal Jesus on the cross. He resurrected Him. 

You can't fake the work.

3. Restoration from ourselves.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing." Psalm 23:1

We take God's beauty and destroy it. We are taking blessings from God and distort them. A constant walking away from God when we insist, "Me, me, me!"

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!"
2 Corinthians 5:17

Restoration is a process. We will always need His grace.

Be a mirror for God's joy. The world neeeds to see God's joy. Pleasure fades. It never lasts. Without God we have no security in the future. We were created for unification with God.

Joy comes from God. If we don't share our joy why would the world want what we have?

Every single promise from the world has a bill in the end.

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." Psalm 51:12

"Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:24-26

The promises of John 14 are found in verses, 2, 3 and 12:
"My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?" John 14:2

​"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John 14:3

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12

His disciples had been following Jesus for 3 years. They still didn't understand it all. They needed the Holy Spirit, the Path of Truth.

"And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness," Exodus 34:6 (The Father)

"Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 (The Son)

 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you." John 14:15-17 (The Spirit)

From the Father to the Son to the Spirit to Us.

The Spirit is our Advocate. He is just as real as Jesus, just as real as Father. Also called Counselor, Friend. In Greek His role means: "Someone who will protect you and lay  you down in a warm bed when you need it."

The Human Condition: "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44  Naturally, we are liars.

The path to understanding the truth: "Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:24-26

The Wisdom: “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me." John 15:26

He sent the Spirit -- we are never left alone to figure all this out ourselves.

First step is to believe:
"For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe." 1 Corinthians 1:21

 "always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth." 2 Timothy 3:7 -- without the Spirit we can't come to the truth.

Salvation leads to truth:  "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 1 timothy 2:3-4

The Spirit can act. Be saved, How do you get the Spirit? By accepting Jesus.

"After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken." John 2:22 (Because they now had the Spirit)

We need the Spirit to understand the Wod.

"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26

"But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.[a] 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth." 1 John 2:20-21

The promise of the Anointing:
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16:12-15

"As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him." 1 John 2:27

The Word of God -- The Whole Truth.

​When I listen I will learn. Get in touch with Spirit.

Slavery was acceptable and public in Bible times. Now it is hidden (most of the time). Today, we are talking about a different kind of slavery.​

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

Paul is telling them to not go back to slavery. They'd (and we) have been freed already. Don't go back. Jesus set us free so we would be and stay free. There were people coming from Jerusalem who told the Galatian church members they needed to obey the Mosiac law. They were trying to add to the gospel.

Faith in Christ is our freedom.

"because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:2

Two Slaveries: Legalism and Sin

"You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:4-6

If you're trying to live by rules instead of by Grace and faith, you aren't living a life of faith. It's all about faith. It's easy to fall into rules/legalism. Humans like to control things, to control other peole. 

Legalism= the excessive adherence to law/formula/rules.

"You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.'" Galatians 5:7-9

Who cut in on you? Who got you off course? Why are you listening to them?

It doesn't take much to change something. Watch out for "bad yeast." Legalism, if it comes in, can take over quickly. Faith is so simple it confounds the wise. Don't go back to the law.

"For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace." Romans 6:14

Jesus completed the law.

Don't choose slavery.
 
"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:32-36

Second slavery -- Slavery of Self-Indulgence (license)

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love." Galatians 5:13

Stay on the path. Don't use your freedom to fall away. If you love Jesus you will keep His commandments (that is what He says). Sin harms me and those around me.

Here is a short list of the self-indulgent sins:

"The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19-21

We are for or against Christ. We walk by the Spirit or by the flesh. Either or. We must surrender/yield to the Spirit.

"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a]you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."
Galatians 5:16-18

The Judge is the Judge. He judges right from wrong. We condemn ourselves. God never condemns. We choose Him or condemnation. We condemn ourselves when we don't choose Jesus. 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:22-24

That is a life walking by the Spirit.

Self-control and love go hand in hand. Our joy will come through loving and serving others. Be joyful!

"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:25

It's easy to see someone is out of step because he or she eventually walks away. Correct them in love. If you aren't in step you're walking away. Keep in step with the Spirit. It is all behind us in less we stand still -- then the junk wil catch up with us. 

Hold on! He is coming!!

'Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you,25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’" Revelation 2:24-25

Mount vs. Plain:
Beatitudes are written in the 3rd person.
The Sermon on the Plain is written in the 2nd person.

"He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all." Luke 6:17-19

3 types of people present to hear the sermon on the plain:
The 12 apostles
The followers and Believers -- many, many followed Jesus who weren't part of the 12.
And The Multitude -- seeking physical healing and entertainment.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you." Luke 6:20-22

There were also Gentiles present in the crowd that day too. Tyre and Sidon were Gentile towns.

20 "Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
    for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
    when they exclude you and insult you
    and reject your name as evil,
        because of the Son of Man." Luke 6:20-22

Look at these "people Groups" From Jesus's perspective:

Poverty, Hunger, Sad and Hated. He wasn't saying you should seek to be poor or hungry or sad or hated. He just said if you know you are these apart from Christ you are blessed.

If you don't come empty to Him, He can't fill You. If you don't know you need Him, You can't receive Him.

"“But woe to you who are rich,
    for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
    for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
    for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
    for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets." Luke 6:24-26

Woe to you if you find satisfaction in anythig else but Him. Jesus is the 2-edged Sword.

Whatever stands between you and Jesus, get rid of it! 
Rich, well-fed; laughing, spoken well of. What's your great reputation based on? 

You can have Jesus or the World. Not both. You should come to Jesus starving for Him..

The context is what makes the difference. Of course we do these things (take care of the weak and voiceless and the poor and widows,,,the vulnerable), but we do it for Jesus.

"The poor you will always have with you,[a] but you will not always have me." Matthew 26:11

"‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[a] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" Revelation 21:4

Have Christ's attitude toward people. He is the reason we do things. There's nothing we need more than Jesus.

What truly separates the world from Believers:

​"Blessed are you when people hate you,
    when they exclude you and insult you
    and reject your name as evil,
        because of the Son of Man." Luke 6:22

"Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
    for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets." Luke 6:26

Jesus did it right.

OT Prophets had really hard lives.

Who are you really?

Seek Him. Whose eyes are we looking through? The world's? Jesus's?

Our motivation is the difference.

"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets." Luke 6:23

I can never finish seeking Him and Running the race until I get to the finish line (which is Heaven). 

Sorry folks! I typed all the notes up on a blog post, but then somehow lost them. And I am too lazy to type them out again. But you can click on the link below and listen to a really good sermon. Today was a great day to be in the house of God!

"Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." John 10:25-27

Listening is an art form. You have to train yourself to learn to listen well. Humans are naturally good at it. We naturally just listen for what we want to hear. And we can hear God's voice if we pay attention. He is speaking and wants each of us to hear Him.

"he said, “Listen to my words:
“When there is a prophet among you,
    I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions,
    I speak to them in dreams." Numbers 12:6

"But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." Matthew 1:20

"For God does speak—now one way, now another--
    though no one perceives it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people
    as they slumber in their beds,
16 he may speak in their ears
    and terrify them with warnings,
17 to turn them from wrongdoing
    and keep them from pride,
18 to preserve them from the pit,
    their lives from perishing by the sword." Job 33:14-18

To be part of a relationship you have to do your part. You have to communicate. You have to listen. 

Have caution -- don't take someone else's words at face value. Do your own research. Speak to God yourself. 

"The idols speak deceitfully,
    diviners see visions that lie;
they tell dreams that are false,
    they give comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep
    oppressed for lack of a shepherd." Zechariah 10:2

"Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God." Ecclesiastes 5:7

God can speak to us anyone He wants to. He spoke to Moses the first time thorugh a bush!

Then there was the long silence:



"The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.
2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.”" 1 Samuel 3:1-4

Silence was in preparation for the next step.

Jesus didn't have to stay around and have a ministry. He did all this so we could have a relationship with Him. God has not changed. 

 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed." Malachi 3:6

 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8

If you aren't hearing from God, you aren't listening. 

The more familiar you are with God's voice, the more you will hear Him.

God will speak to us through His word.
 
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a]may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Our Father is speaking to His children. 

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

the Word is alive!

He speaks to us intentionally and personally. If you're walking in faithfulness, God will speak. What you fill your world with is what You will focus on.

"Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:23-26

"Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit." 1 Corinthians 12:3

The World wants us distrated and following impulses and totally disorganized. 

Often, God will speak to us through circumstances.

"or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh,a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Give your testimony from the point of weakness. Use discernment and prayer.

"But who can discern their own errors?
    Forgive my hidden faults." Psalm 19:12

"Teach me knowledge and good judgment,
    for I trust your commands." Psalm 119:66

"let the wise listen and add to their learning,
    and let the discerning get guidance—" Proverb 1:5

Don't take stuff at face value. Do your own research.

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

If you ask God a question, give Him time to answer.

Focus on God. Dwell with Him. Listen. He has something to tell you.

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness,righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord." Ephesians 5:8-10

Are you listening for the Shepherd's voice?

 "for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:16

God the Father.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name," Matthew 6:9
"But if your eyes are unhealthy,[a] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matthew 6:23

"Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[a] Father.” Galatians 4:6

Abba means "daddy."

"So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. 20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned."Ephesians 4:17-20

Set yourself apart from the Old way of life. When you come in dirty from the field you take off your dirty clothes and take a shower, but you don't stop there if you plan on going anywhere. You put on clean clothes. We need to clothe ourselves in the new self.

Practical Advice -- and an example to Follow.

“In your anger do not sin”[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry," Ephesians 4:26


"The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;" Psalm 103:8-9

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.5 1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for usas a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 4:31-5:2

Follow God's example. Our goal is for people to see the Father in us.

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16

God's standard -- do as God does.

The absolute truth -- God is our standard.

Be like Him.

Obey or break.

The love of the Father overcomes the failures of the children.

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." 1 John 3:1

World doesn't understand absolute truth. 

Until I understand the love of God I won't understand anything else.

The standard is perfection. 

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48

Perfect means "complete" or "mature."

"But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Hebrews 5:14

Grow. Keep growing. Grow toward God. Grow to be like God. 

Every day we get a do-over. That's grace!