…Reach the World
Matthew 28:18-20

Most of us are intimidated by the word EVANGELISM.

Mark 4:1-9 Parable of the Sower.

• The Wayside Heart
• The Stony Heart
• The Thorny Heart
• The Good Heart

However, we can not pick and choose where we sow seeds.

Carrying out the Great Commission by sowing and reaping is everyone’s concern.

Great Commission

First, in verse 18, we are being commanded by a Savior who has all power in heaven and on earth.

Because we share our stories, others find the hope that is found in Christ Jesus.

Secondly, in verse 19, the Great Commission reveals a Savior that is for all people.

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in him would not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Salvation is for all people. No one has sinned too much. No one is too lost.

Thirdly, however, we can’t stop here. The second part of the verse reveals to us the need to teach.

Then, as the people around you are influenced by your faith, they will find their way into a community of believers somewhere.

But Jesus called us to make disciples. As Christians, we must have a genuine concern for souls.

Spiritual Disciplines
Solitude
Luke 13:6-8

The gardener of our soul is the Holy Spirit, he digs around our roots and feeds us so that we might bear good fruit.

What is Solitude
Just as fasting is the abstinence from food for spiritual purposes, solitude is the withdrawing to privacy for spiritual purposes.

True solitude removes ourselves from company, but it also removes ourselves from other distractions as well.

Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment. Solitude is not first a place but a state of mind and heart.

We only have to look at Jesus’ life if we want to find the practice of Solitude in scripture.

The Benefits of Solitude
In the quiet of solitude, all pretensions can be striped away, all the things in life that are trying to mold us in their image are removed, all the requirements of the world disappear, and we can stand before God “just as I am”.

Remember that Dallas Willard said that the Discipline of Solitude is for strengthening.

You can see that Jesus sought out solitude before the big events in his life.

When we are tempted to live in a way that will please those around us, rather than live in integrity with who the Father has called us to be, the more time we spend in solitude with the Father, the less other’s judgments stick to us!

How to Practice Solitude
The important thing is to get alone and recognize God’s presence with you before you read or pray.

They say that you can be alone even when standing in a crowd.

The truth is, I believe that all Christians should take some kind of solitary retreat at times.

The Benefits of Solitude

• Being Real
• Getting Centered
• Learn to Live in Integrity

How To Practice Solitude

• Daily Solitude
• Spontaneous Solitude
• Retreats

Love God…Love People
Mark 12:28-34

If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.

Jesus’ answer to this all-important question would reveal a great deal about his own heart–which, of course, is the heart of God.

Love God. Love people. That’s what matters most to God! These are the Greatest Commands. These are the big rocks!

I. Love God: Deuteronomy 6:4-5

The heart is the source of our feelings and emotions.

Perhaps, the best way to understand it is that your soul is both who and what you are.

Loving God with all your mind implies centering your education on him–learning and growing in our capacity to fathom his vastness and mystery.

Strength here has nothing to do with physique; it signifies your energy output–your work, your job, your play, whatever it is that you put effort into.

As we learn to love him more, he opens our hearts to greater love.

II. Love People: Leviticus 19:18

Loving your neighbor essentially means loving the people around you–all of them.

The five love languages:

• Words of Affirmation
• Quality Time
• Acts of Service
• Physical Touch
• Gifts

When we serve, touch, and give gifts to other people, we are nonetheless doing it for God.

Ultimately, we love people the most when we share with them the same loving relationship with God that we have.

All of this sort of begs the question–how loving are you?

I Corinthians 13:4-8

And if it is our desire to grow in our capacity to love God and love people, then we must learn to love like Jesus…

General Electric Power Company
A New Creation
Galatians 6:11-18

Going Away Empty Hearted
Easter 2012
John 20:1-18

On Sunday morning, some friends of his arrive at the tomb where he was buried to pay their last respects only to discover that his body is gone.

The question is how are you going to respond to that empty tomb?

JOHN, THE BELIEVER

He was so excited about the possibility that Jesus might actually be alive that he ran faster than he ever had before.

John saw and believed.

PETER, THE SKEPTIC

The last time that he had looked into the eyes of Jesus was just after Peter had denied Him.

He needed more evidence.

Peter walked away from that empty tomb with his heart still broken.

MARY, THE BROKEN-HEARTED

It was the deepest darkest time of their lives.

To her, Jesus meant…

• Release
• Peace
• Forgiveness
• Someone to believe in
• Leadership

Seeing the Lord – that’s what Mary wanted more than anything else, and she wanted it more than anyone else did.

RESPONSE

You see the empty tomb and you believe.

You see the empty tomb and you don’t know what to believe.

You see the empty tomb, you see the change in people’s lives and you hang around long enough to have your questions answered and your faith grown.

Spiritual Disciplines
Confession
Luke 15:17-20

What God wants to hear is an honest answer to a simple question.

True confession is marked by honesty.

God can forgive any sin, but he will not forgive us until there is honest confession.

We have lost our moral bearings, we are spiritually adrift, and we are unaware of it.

The good news is that when we do confess our sin, we do not find rejection but acceptance from God.

True confession is marked by sorrow.

Real confession means that we regret what we have done.

Sin brings sorrow because it alienates us from God, from other people, and it leaves us broken within.

True confession is marked by change.

Once we become honest with ourselves, others and God, once we have repented with godly sorrow, a change takes place in our hearts.

It is a good thing to have someone to whom we can confess our sins.

When we are determined to seek the forgiveness of those we have wronged and make restitution, then we are on the path of a new obedience.

His heart is full of love and forgiveness.

Spiritual Disciplines
Contemplative Prayer
Psalm 27

Most of us realize that we cannot grow the fruit of the Spirit, or weed out the sins of our lives by sheer will power alone.

How do we develop a relationship with our maker?

PRAYER!

Often times our prayers are the same way, we are running around in our lives and we stop for a second and say, “Oh, God, I need you.”

We must pray not just to speak to God, but also, to hear from Him what we are to speak.

Real prayer is something we learn.

Begin With Scripture
Meditate on Scripture before you pray.

Listen Before You Speak
Spend time in silence before God, wait to see what he says.

As we learn to listen to each other, we can apply that skill to God in our prayers.

Imagination
God may not speak to you in words audible or inaudible. He may speak to you in pictures, images, feelings, sensations, dreams, and visions.

Speak
Prayer is about relationship, and although we should not make it one-sided by doing all the talking, we should also not make it one-sided by doing all the listening!

Having a spiritual friend or soul-friend is like having a training buddy.

Pray
We need to dig the well deeper, so that it won’t go dry during the hard times, and we need to develop our relationship with God so that we can enjoy the good times with Him.

Spiritual Disciplines
Fasting
Matthew 6:16-18

Simply put, fasting is the voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes.

When Jesus taught on fasting, he would say “when you fast”, not “if you fast”.

Fasting reminds us that we can get by without most things in our lives for a time, but we cannot get by without God.

Fasting is voluntarily turning up the heat in our lives.

It is both physical and spiritual and it builds our faith muscles so that we can withstand the bigger contests that come our way.

Our hunger pangs also remind us to lift our voice up to God.

When we fast in our repentance, it is not an attempt to punish ourselves for our past sin, but as a commitment and preparation for our future righteousness.

Determine the purpose of the fast. Is it to seek God, to seek direction, to pray for others?

There is so much potential power in seeking God in this way that Satan will do whatever necessary to derail your plan.

Remember that your fast is about you and God, not about impressing others, or even yourself.

Remember that we are not twisting God’s arm, we are trying to draw closer to Him.

The goal is spiritual not physical. If you want to loose weight, find a way to eat healthier, if you want to draw closer to God, try fasting.

Why Fast?

• Fasting increases our hunger for God.
• Fasting can train our passions.
• Fasting can be an earnest prayer.
• Fasting can help us humble ourselves.
• Fasting can be a sign of Repentance.

How to Fast.

• Start small.
• Determine the purpose of the fast.
• Determine the nature of the fast.
• Determine the length of the fast.
• Get people praying for you.

Pitfalls of Fasting.

• Pride
• Coercion of God
• Penance
• Dieting

If you’re satisfied with the status quo of your spiritual life, then just go ahead and ignore everything I’ve said today.

If you’re ready to move on to another level, and you’re not fasting as a part of your walk with Christ already, then I’d say, start right away.

Spiritual Disciplines
Bible Study
Genesis 1:1 – Revelation 22:21

“A Great Commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will grow a Great Church.”

Spiritual disciplines are practices that we willingly pursue in response to a God who created us, saved us, and guides us.

Spiritual disciplines draw us closer to God, deepen our understanding of who he is, and help make us into the men and women he desires us to become.

We study the Bible but we are not really listening for God’s voice and therefore we do not understand what He wants to say to us.

Five reasons why we should study the Bible.

1. It is divine – II Timothy 3:16

God gave it to us, God gave it to you.

2. It is truth – John 17:17

The Bible is not just partly true, it’s totally true.

3. It is our map – Psalm 119:105

The Bible not only shows us how to know God but it also tells us how we should live.

4. It is our food – Matthew 4:4

The Bible is necessary for our spiritual health and growth.

5. It is our life – Deuteronomy 32:47

The Bible shows us how we can have life, real life.

How Can I Study The Bible?

Prepare

Right Tools
Right Mindset (Psalm 119:18, I Corinthians 2:12)

Record

Exegesis (To lead out)
Context (When was it written?)
Content (What’s the meaning of the words?)

Apply

Hermeneutics (Interpretive)
How does this passage of Scripture apply to me today?

Yield

What action does God want me to take?

The goal of Bible study is not just to know the content of the Bible; it is to get to know the AUTHOR of the Bible in a deeper, more personal way.

Learning From the Songs of Christmas
Joy to the World
Psalm 98:2-9

Even at its best, Christmas means parties to plan, gifts to buy, elaborate meals to cook, long trips to take, or out-of-town guests to host. Instead of bringing JOY, Christmas can bring frustration.

Unfortunately, many people leave Christ out of Christmas. Instead of looking to Jesus, people look for JOY anywhere and everywhere else.

The Bible says a lot about JOY. The kind of JOY the Bible talks about goes much deeper than mere happiness.

The first stanza teaches: THERE IS JOY WHEN THE KING IS RECEIVED

King Herod was anything but joyful when the Magi from the East inquired about the birthplace of a new King.

While Herod saw Jesus as a Threat, the Wise Men saw Jesus as a Gift, and they came to worship Him.

The second stanza teaches: THERE IS JOY WHEN THE SAVIOR REIGNS

Receiving Christ is the important first step. But then we must go on to let him Reign in our lives.

Most of us do a pretty lousy job of running our lives on our own. Jesus knows what will give you JOY.

The third stanza teaches: THERE IS JOY WHEN THE SINNER REPENTS

Sin promises happiness. But Sin delivers sorrow.

The baby changed everything. Has the Bethlehem Baby changed your life?

The last stanza teaches: THERE IS JOY WHEN THE TRUTH RULES WITHS GRACE

JOY comes because He rules with a perfect balance of TRUTH and GRACE.

True JOY will be yours this Christmas if you will RECEIVE Christ, REPENT of your sins, and let Jesus REIGN in your life with Truth and Grace.