Pause, reflect, look back, look forward

Pause, reflect, look back, look forward
Proverbs 16: 1-9

(To hear this sermon live, please go to www.pacificviewbaptist.com and click on "sermons" from the menu on the left.)

Intro… Game of life/ life maps etc. These are games where the risks aren't quite so high, but we learn lessons nontheless from these games.
• We hit this time of year and we can’t help but to pause, reflect, etc.
• Sometimes it seems like God places us in a holding pattern between Christmas and New Years. I think it’s for the purpose of evaluation.
• Christmas, family gatherings, old year passing, new year coming etc.

Big Pic: Let’s take advantage of the natural seasons God gives us to evaluate our lives according to a biblical standard.

Text: Proverbs 16:1-9

It’s so easy to rush ahead with our plans. Let’s take a look at some good, solid, practical, biblical advice when it comes to planning our lives.

v. 1, 9 There is an important balance between the plans of our heart and the directions the Lord gives us.
• On one hand, we have to go with what seems right in our hearts.
• On the other hand, we need to base our decisions on biblical study.
• Three ways God has revealed himself throughout history (OT, Jesus and the Holy Spirit)
• The more time we spend in the word, the more we know God’s character.
• We also learn from all the saints that have gone before us.
• We learn from the mistakes and victories of those in the Bible and other great Christians throughout the centuries.
• We just need to be careful that our emotions or heart doesn’t get too carried away and make decisions that God would not be pleased with.
• The heart-action with God’s guidance is an important connection.
• God has given us emotions and logic.
• Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn’t.
• Sometimes we step out completely in faith, other times we are more sure of God’s direction.
• Questions/thoughts?

v. 2-8 give us some practical advice on how we combine the two. (heart/logic)
v. 2 Reminds us that we can justify just about anything…but we’ve got to let God weigh our spirits or hearts.
• Listen to the Holy Spirit. Usually you know if it’s right or wrong.
• This comes with more time in the Word, being around other Christians etc.
• That’s the value of the church community…

v. 3 Commit your (life) work to the Lord…
• Baby dedications…that should be the pattern for your whole life.
• Dedicating everything, everyday to God, asking for his guidance and blessing.
• When we’ve given everything to God, or dedicated it to him, then our plans will be established, in the way God wants them to be.

v. 4 God “allows” everything.
• Just think about this last year—or better, the last two or three years.
• Things haven’t gone at all like you expected, have they?
• As an example, you may be living in a completely different city than where you lived three years ago.
• In fact, you may have assumed you would be living in that previous location all your life.
• But you’ve now come to realize there are other places to live . . . and that God’s grand plan for you includes a complete change of scenery.
• As we ask God to guide our lives each year, be open to the changes he may bring that you weren’t expecting.

v. 5 Pride comes before a fall.
• Maybe you’ve had a great year and are giving yourself too much credit.
• Taking too much credit (arrogance) is an abomination to the Lord!
• Abomination: anything greatly disliked or abhorred, a vile, shameful, or detestable action, condition, habit.
• I think we’ve all experienced the punishment from too much pride.

v. 6 There is power in steadfast love and faithfulness.
• The ultimate example of steadfast love and faithfulness is God.
• Because of that love he atoned or paid for our iniquity, or sins through Christ’s death on the cross.
• That should give us such respect and fear of God that we will turn away from evil.
• The right response to God’s grace is moral effort…continually trying to do the right thing.
• And that helps us make good life choices, year in and year out.

v. 7 When our plans please the Lord, all will be at peace.
• So as we face a whole new year, we all want peace, right?
• That peace comes when our ways, our paths, our choices please God.
• Sometimes that path is easy and sometimes it’s hard…
• When the path gets rough... tragedy strikes, a dark shadow has been cast across your life . . . or perhaps within the life of someone in your family…
• At such times, it helps to cling to the perspectives of Joseph and Paul, who factored God’s sovereignty into the struggle of their lives. (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28)
• And somehow, we even make our enemies at peace.
• That one I can’t really explain, but it’s right here in the Bible, so I’m going to believe it.

v. 8 Even a small bit of righteousness goes a long way.
• At times it seems like evil wins out over righteousness, but God is ultimately righteous and that will win out.
• That’s why we want to keep doing what it right. It’s the right (godly) thing to do.

v. 9 Just have to remember that tricky balance.
• I’ve been a Christian my whole life and never heard an audible voice from God…
• Yet I’ve also spent my whole life studying the Bible…
• I’ve made good and bad decisions, thankfully nothing to disastrous.
• Whatever we might say about the events of the past few years, we have to confess that most of these things have come without announcement.
• We really had no way of knowing they would occur.
• As we close out the old year and prepare for the new, we often find ourselves shaking our heads in amazement as we look back . . . and lifting our eyes in faith to heaven as we look ahead.
• The future remains a vast, unknown, open space. Yet it lies completely in the hands of our sovereign Lord. “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

As you step out into the unknown, stay close to Him.

Questions/thoughts?

One way to God John 14:1-6

Vintage Jesus, “One way.” John 14:6

Intro… there is really only one right way to fix things…(goofy things guys do when trying to fix stuff)
• Vintage Jesus series…this is a HUGE one…
• Contrary to what some people think, all religions or paths don’t lead to God…
• It sounds good and “politically correct” to think that all paths lead to God…but in reality, there is only one way to God.

Big Pic: Jesus makes the claim the he is the only way to God. What each person does with that claim will determine their eternal destiny.

Text: John 14:1-6
There are a lot of people today who don’t know where they are going. They may know what their career is, where they should live, etc. but when it comes to eternal things…

Let’s look at some of the key statements Jesus makes leading up to John 14:6
v. 1 “Don’t let you hearts be troubled, trust in God, trust also in me.”
• Life is troubling, times are hard, things can get confusing….trust in God.
• That’s the first step, being willing to trust in God…
• The way to eternal life, though unseen and tough at times is secure.

v. 2-3 Heaven is full of rooms and Jesus is preparing those rooms or house for us.
• Since the way to eternal life has been prepared, the only question is are you willing to believe Jesus’ words?

v. 4-5 Jesus reminds the disciples (us) that they/we know the way, yet doubting Thomas says, “How can we know the way?”

v. 6 Then Jesus makes it very simple and clear:
• “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
• Isaiah 45:21


"Are you saying Jesus Christ is the only way, and that if someone doesn't believe in Him they're actually going to hell? That's so narrow! So insensitive! So intolerant!"
• I’m not saying it, Jesus said it in John 14:6. So…we’ve all got to deal with that statement.

Well, all religions basically say and teach the same thing. They're all true. And besides, if a person is really sincere in what they believe, they'll get to heaven."
• “They’re in a better place…”
• You can’t make the most important decision of your life based on feelings and opinions.
“If a person truly is sincere in what he believes and tries to live a good life, then he will get to heaven.”
• So Adolf Hitler is in heaven, right? He sincerely believed what he was doing was right.
• "No!" you protest. "He is not good!" Really? According to whose definition?
• Why is it wrong to lie, steal and murder? As much as we may hate to admit it, it's because God said it.
• Sincerity is never enough. We have to have a set of absolutes to live by. We can't simply make up the rules as we go along. You may want to believe that "all roads lead to God."

It helps if we distinguish between "matters of truth" and "matters of taste."
• Taste: In-N-Out has the best burgers in SD. I love the Dave Matthews Band. SDA is the best high school in north county.
• Truth: Barack Obama is our current president. The Titanic sunk into the icy waters of the Atlantic on April 15, 1912 about 2:20a.m. Over six million Jewish men, women and children perished in the holocaust.
• Matters of truth require us to make a decision anytime the "mass of evidence or weight of reasons point in one direction rather than another.”

So…with all due respect, all religions don’t teach the same thing. We don’t need to get ugly about it or argumentative, just take a look at the facts.

Let’s look at three basic areas:
• The existence of a personal God. Buddhists deny it altogether. Hindus believe that God is formless and abstract, taking the form of a trinity as well as millions of lesser gods. In Christianity, the Bible teaches that God is a personal deity, who created man in His own image, loves us and wants to have a relationship with us.
• Salvation. Buddhists believe salvation comes by self-effort alone – with no personal God to help or guide you. Hindus believe you achieve salvation by devotion, works and self-control. Muslims insist that man earns his own salvation, pays for his own sins, and that you can never be certain if you have achieved salvation or not. In Christianity, the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and if we will turn from our own way and follow Him, we can be forgiven and have the hope of heaven.
• Jesus Christ. Buddhists believe Jesus was a good teacher, but less important than Buddha. Hindus believe Jesus was just one of many incarnations, or sons of God. They teach that Christ was not the one-and-only Son of God. He was no more divine than any other man, and He did not die for man's sins. Muslims will tell you that Jesus Christ was only a man, a prophet equal to Adam, Noah or Abraham, all of whom are below Muhammad in importance. Christians believe that Jesus is God, was crucified for our sins and rose again.

They can’t all be true.
Acts 4:12, 1 Tim. 2:5

Christianity does not teach that only Christians deserve to go to heaven.
• It teaches that no one deserves to go to heaven, because we have all done wrong during our lives (Rom 3:23…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God).

We can gain admittance to heaven by repenting of our wrongs, accepting Jesus Christ's death as payment for our wrongs and deciding to follow and worship him as Lord.
• John 14:6 reminds us that Jesus is the only way to God, not any particular church or denomination. (John 6:40).
• Salvation is accessible to everyone and is intended by God for everyone: “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 45:22)

Actually all paths do lead to God, but all paths don’t lead to heaven.
• Everyone of us will stand before the judgment throne of God..
• Unfortunately for many, God won’t be pleased with them.
• Some will get Grace. Some will get what they deserved.

Conclusion:
C. S. Lewis "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. ... You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to" ("Mere Christianity," 52).

To hear this sermon live, go to: www.pacificviewbaptist.com and click on "sermons" from the menu on the left.

File this under bizzare San Diego news

Escondido Bomb House: Controlled Burn Of Explosives
After several weeks of planning, the San Diego sheriff's department, ATF , and other authorities began a controlled burn of the so-called "Bomb House" in Escondido. The home came under scrutiny on November 18, when landscaper Mario Garcia stepped on an explosive device in the yard. He sustained injuries to his chest, eye, and arm. Investigators stumbled upon a home that was packed with bomb-making chemicals, hand grenades, and other explosives.

How strange is it that; A. The guy was building bombs in his house. B. There was so much explosive materials they had to burn it all the ground. C. They had to burn the entire house down...and they did! Not sure I want San Diego on the national map for this one.

Mindbending Jesus statements

“Mindbending Jesus statements” Luke 12:1-12

Intro…Turn the other cheek, the meek will inherit the earth, the first will be last and the last will be first, take up your cross and follow me, hate your father and mother etc. These are “Mindbending Jesus statements.”
• “Vintage Jesus” series…these are famous quotes many people are familiar with…and only someone like Jesus is qualified to make a statement like these.
Text: Luke 12:6-12

Big Pic: God has a personal interest in our everyday affairs.

Background:
• In the first 4 vs. Jesus is warning people to be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy. Why?
• The Pharisees had a bad habit of trying to appear holy when their hearts were far from God.
• These attitudes couldn’t be hidden forever (v. 2-3).
• The Pharisees where just power hungry
• Speaking to a crowd of many thousands trampling on each other.
• In vs. 6-12 Jesus reminds this crowd of what is really important.

v. 5 “Fear him…who has the power to throw you into hell.”
• Yikes! But that has to be recognized.
• God alone has the power to decide who enters heaven and who enters hell. Rev. 20:10
• Yes, we make choices, but there is predestination. Remember, we don’t know who God has chosen, so let’s not guess…
• God’s personal interest is that we make the right choice.
• Just make sure that you aren’t going to hell.

v. 7 “The very hairs of you head are all numbered.”
• What? Actually? Yes, God could tell you the exact number of hairs on your head if he needed to.
• Our true value is what God thinks of us, not others.
• God cares for us, as he does all of his creation, because we belong to him.
• God cares about every detail of your life.
• God’s personal interest is that nothing is too small or insignificant.
v. 8-9 “Whoever disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.”
• We need to be willing to make a public stand for God.

• Initially that means becoming a Christian…but we also deny or disown Jesus when we:
• Hope that no one will find out we are a Christian
• Decide not to speak up for what is right
• Are silent about our relationship with God
• Compromise culturally

• What we should be doing is:
• Living a godly life, look for opportunities to talk about our faith, serve others, take a stand for justice, acknowledge loyalty to Christ, carry out God’s desires instead of our own.
• God’s personal interest is that we are proud of our relationship with him.

v. 10 “Anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”
• We may think there are other unforgivable sins, but this is actually the only one. What exactly is it?
• It’s denying or rejecting the Holy Spirit’s prompting of your heart, or his power in your life.
• Closing your heart to God.
• It’s the deliberate refusal to acknowledge God and his power, having nothing to do with God.
• A deliberate and irreversible hardness of heart. Turning your back on God and rejecting all faith.
• This person can’t be forgiven because they will never ask for forgiveness. It’s called pride and ego.
• The first step to coming to God is admitting your fault and need of God.
• If you are afraid you’ve committed this sin, that actually a good sign that you haven’t!
• So remember, blasphemy is a serious offense!
• We should all look at this word in a different way now…
• God’s personal interest is that we don’t reject his offer of salvation.


v. 11 “Do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”
• Just imagine the disciples a bunch of uneducated fishermen going at it with the educated Jewish leaders…
• They might have been rough around the edges, but what God did in their lives was undeniable. Same with all of us today.
• This is actually a very comforting verse, especially when it comes to talking to others about your faith.
• Even if we “had all the answers,” the Holy Spirit still needs to speak to people and soften their hearts.
• However, this isn’t an excuse to not be prepared.
• We are still called to diligent study of God’s word etc.
• God’s personal interest is that we trust him and let his power show for itself.

Conclusion: The sayings of Jesus are important to understand. They give us a deeper insight into our faith and the Christian life.

Vintage Jesus

Vintage Jesus
“Next time you think you’re perfect, try walking on water.”
Matthew 14:22-33

Intro….When it comes to “Vintage Jesus”, the story of him walking on the water is one of the best known.
• There are countless cultural references to walking on water.
• I think you could go up to most people and ask them who was the only person to ever walk on water and they’d say Jesus.
Text: Matthew 14:22-33
Big Picture: The story in Matthew 14 is “Vintage Jesus” because it is well known, is truly miraculous, proves that Jesus is God, and teaches us about faith and trust in God.

The boat full of disciples is now in the middle of the lake, in the middle of a storm and check out this statement:
• (v.25) “During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.”
• Yes, I fully believe Jesus walked on water. I also believe he fed the “10,000” etc.
• Vintage Jesus is the Jesus who is miraculous.
• And I’m talking miraculous in a God way, not a way we use the term today to describe a full court basketball shot at the buzzer, or grand slam in the 9th inning to win the game…
• This was no big deal to Jesus, he wasn’t showing off. He was just doing what he does best, perform needed miracles to make a point.
• The miracles of Jesus always served a purpose. He didn’t walk around “blowing stuff up, or setting things on fire” just to show off…
• Jesus had just fed at least 5000 people to show them that he will always provide and that there will always be enough.
• In the miracle of Jesus walking on the water, Jesus teaches about faith, trust and staying focused on him.
• The miracles of Jesus should lead us to worship him, to awe and wonder.
• Jesus used miraculous power to heal the sick, feed the hungry and raise the dead.
• (Tim Keller “The reason for God” on the importance of miracles.) “Jesus’ miracles are about more than just about the suspension of natural order, they are about restoration of the natural order.
• God did not make the world originally to have disease, hunger and death.
• Jesus has come to redeem what is wrong and heal what is broken.
• “His miracles are not just proof that he has power but amazing foretastes of what he is going to do with that power.”

Now all this miracle stuff sounds great to the casual observer…

v. 26 “They were terrified, it’s a ghost, they cried out in fear.”
• Who can blame them? It was sometime between 3-6am and it’s not like you see someone walking on the water every day. As far as we know, this is the first and last time this ever happened.
• This part of the story, we can all relate to…image driving down the freeway in the middle of the night on your way home from a Thanksgiving gathering and you see Jesus walking down the freeway in the middle of all the cars…
• However, “Vintage Jesus” wants us to trust him…to know that this actually is him wanting to show us something important.
• The natural tendency is to shrink in fear or amazement when the miraculous happens.
• Instead, Jesus wants us to follow him, to trust in him.

v. 28 Peter is such an important part of this story. He represents all of humanity.
• What do you see in this picture? (fear, faith, trust, cheering on..)
• We know God is asking us to step out and have faith.
• That first step can be easy or hard, but what’s really hard is to continue to keep focused, keeping our eyes on Jesus.
• Doubt is not the absence of faith it is a test of faith.
• Peter had faith to step out but he did not count the cost and he looked down. He got distracted by the “world around him.”
• It was only then that Peter began to falter and sink.
• Yet, the hand of grace pulled Peter to safety.

So, when we talk about “Vintage Jesus, ” here are some important things to remember:
• Jesus has control over the situation. Wind and waves obey Him.
• We must keep our eyes on the LORD rather than the situation that threatens to engulf us.
• That will give us the confidence we need to walk through the raging storms in our lives.
• Christ's hand is always extended to the lost.
• We all need to reach out in faith to the LORD for salvation.
• Jesus walking on water is a principle that the invisible realities of faith in Christ are victorious over the visible threats of this world, regardless of the form they may take.
• This story of Jesus walking on the water is one that just about everyone has heard of.
• It’s a great chance to have a conversation with someone about why this is possible, why Jesus can do this.
• It affirms his deity.
• It shows he is asking us to keep our eyes on him and have faith.
• “Vintage Jesus” is not just a challenge to our minds, but a promise to our hearts, that the world we all want is coming.

v. 27 If we listen we can hear the soothing voice of Jesus, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”