Sunday, January 25, 2015

Message outline: “How to be ready for the Second Coming”Luke 12:35-36, 40-44, 49-53

“How to be ready for the Second Coming”
Luke 12:35-36, 40-44, 49-53

Be watchful in the present about the future to be ready for the Second Coming

Be ready for the Second Coming by
I. Preparation for actively serving the Lord (35)
35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,

II. Alertness to the potential of the Lord’s soon return (36)
36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.
37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.
38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!
39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.

III. Reminding yourself the Lord will come at an unexpected hour (40)
40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
IV. Taking comfort that your present faithful service will be eternally rewarded. (43-44)
43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.

The Bible says a lot about Heavenly Rewards

A. All believers will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ
Romans 14:10-12;
2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV)
5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.  
B. This judgment will NOT determine the Believer’s Eternal Destiny
Titus 3:3-7
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--   9 not by works, so that no one can boast.  
C. This Judgment will determine the believer’s Heavenly reward
1 Corinthians 3:11-15; Revelation 22:12
D. The promise of eternal rewards.
For denying self in the Service of Christ
    Matthew 6:24-27; Matthew 19:29
For Obedience to Christ
    Revelation 2:26
For enduring persecution for Christ’s sake
    Matthew 5:11-12
For faith that expresses itself through giving and financial sacrifice.
    Matthew 6:3-4; Luke 12:33
For good works
    1 Timothy 6:18-19 (NIV)

V.  Looking to Jesus redemptive reason for His first coming (49-50)
49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!
50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!

In facing the cross, Jesus spoke to His disciples
Mark 10:38 (ESV)
38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”

We are ready for the Second Coming as we Look to why Jesus Came in His first coming.
That is part of the imagery in the 12th chapter of the book of Hebrews.....

Hebrews 12:1-3 (ESV)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus,
the founder and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself,
so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

VI. By remembering the potential of division between those accepting and those rejecting Christ. (51-53)    51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three.
53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Earlier in birth narrative of Luke 2:14
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
The Lord Jesus gives peace with God (justification) to those who place their faith in Him.(Romans 5:1).  But that confession of faith can sometimes be a declaration of war among an individuals family and friends.

There can be division because of Jesus.

John 7:43 (ESV)
43 So there was a division among the people over him.

John 9:16 (ESV)
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.

John 10:19 (ESV)
19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Message Outline:“How to Moderate Your Worry” Luke 12:22-34, January 17th , 2015

“How to Moderate Your Worry”
Luke 12:22-34
January 17th , 2015
   
Big Idea: Moderate your worry by looking to God’s kingdom and his provision

I.  Do Not be anxious about your life by having a higher perspective  [22-23]
22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.
23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

II.  Do Not Worry About Food by .... [24-26]
A. Considering how God feeds the ravens (24a-b)
24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.
B. Considering how valuable you are to God (24c)
24c Of how much more value are you than the birds!
C. Considering the Futility of anxiety in your life (25-26)
25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?

III. Do Not Worry about what you will wear [27- 28]
A. Consider the Lilies of the field (27)
27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
B. Consider Your value to God - you of little faith (28)
28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

IV. A Do not and a Do in consideration of your stuff [29-21]
A. Do not be consumed with seeking things - God knows what you need (29-30)
29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.
30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
B. Do purposefully seek after God’s kingdom  (31-32)
31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

V.  Adjust the priorities of your spiritual life by  [33-34]
A. Divesting yourself of those activities and things which hinder your walk with God (33)
33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
B. Investing in the Kingdom of God with your time, talent, and treasure (34)
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

A Chance to Make Good

Paul Harvey told the story about Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare, the Navy's number-one ace in the Second World War and the first naval aviator ever to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is named for him.
What "Butch" O'Hare became, however, was made possible because someone else paid a great price.

That someone else was Butch's father, Edward J. O'Hare, a slick lawyer for the gangster Al Capone.  "Artful Eddie," as he was known, had money and power, but one day he squealed on Capone.  The reason for this sudden change of heart?  He wanted to give his son a break, he said.  Before long, the mob silenced Artful Eddie with two shotgun blasts.

But because of Eddie's courageous change of heart, his son Butch was accepted at Annapolis:  Eddie's confession and subsequent death satisfied admissions people that the family's mob connections were severed.  Artful Eddie paid with his own life for his son's chance to make good, something that Jesus Christ did for each of us on the Cross.
   -- Steven D. Mathewson, Helena, Montana.  Leadership, Vol. 12, no. 1.


Friday, January 2, 2015

Message Outline: “The Dangers of Greed” Luke 12:13-21



“The Dangers of Greed”
Luke 12:13-21
January 4th , 2015

I. An inappropriate request reveals the status of the heart. (13-14)
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”

II. A warning about greed: our life is more than our stuff (15)
15 And he said to them,“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”


III. A parable about a greedy rich fool [16-21]

A. An opportunity presents itself: an abundant crop (16-17)
16  And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself,‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’

B. The Choice acted upon: generous toward self and poor toward God.(18-19)
18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul,“Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;  relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’

C. Life and earthly riches pass quickly, but richness toward God lasts forever. (20-21)
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”