LISTENING TO THE HEART OF THE MASTER: Part 4

Week #2 of Blessings
June 24, 2007

OPENING
 In the early 1990’s, the emerging church movement began with this statement: “we need a 3rd option.” Not conservative. Not liberal. But, something else entirely.
 Also, in the early 90’s, Christians from other countries began sending their pastors here to be missionaries to the united states. When this happened MISSIONS as we know it was turned upside-down.
 84% of the US claims to be Christians.
 14% of the US goes to Sunday church services at least once a month
 Jesus came and taught us that we are to be a blessing to our world, to be missional


When are you blessed? PART II
 Matthew 5:1-12
 First 4 attitude adjustments were about letting go: self, possessions, people & the physical needs.
 If last week was about relationship with Jesus at all costs, then this week is about being “missional” in our relationships with others at all costs.

Blessing Missional Caregivers
 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (NIV)
 God blesses those who are merciful, for thy will be shown mercy. (NLT)
 You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being “care-full,” you find yourselves cared for. (Message)

Blessing the Missional Conscience
 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (NIV)
 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. (NLT)
 You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. (Message)

Blessing the Missional Mediators
 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. (NIV)
 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called children of God. (NLT)
 You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you rally are, and your place in God’s family. (Message)

Blessing those Committed to the Mission
 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (NIV)
 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of heaven is theirs. (NLT)
 You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. (Message)

Blessing the Missionally Challenged
 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. (NIV)
 God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. (NLT)
 Count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. (Message)

Hear the Heart of the Master and Accept His Mission: Right Relationships At All Costs

LISTENING TO THE HEART OF THE MASTER: Part 3

WEEK #1 of BLESSINGS
June 17, 2007

Told the story of our week working at the new building. I “feel” blessed.

When are you blessed? PART 1
Ο More money?
Ο When your kids arrive?
Ο When you follow God’s laws/commands?
Ο Jesus seems to say that our blessing is wrapped up in something different that what we’re used to.
Ο How and why are we blessed are wrapped up in attitude.

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT
 Matthew 5:1-12
 “God helps those who help themselves” IS NOT SCRIPTURE.
 When we begin to listen to Jesus’ heart, it is much different.
 Our need is preeminent to our blessings.

BLESSING THE DOWNHEARTED (letting go of self)
 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (NIV)
 God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. (NLT)
 You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. (Message)

BLESSING THOSE WHO’VE LOST (letting go of people)
 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (NIV)
 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (NLT)
 You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. (Message)

BLESSING THE HUMBLE (letting go of stuff)
 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (NIV)
 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. (NLT)
 You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought. (Message)

BLESSING THE STARVED (letting go of physical need)
 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (NIV)
 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. (NLT)
 You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat. (Message)

Matt said last week that it’s about “right relationships at all costs.” If this is true, then our relationship reworking begins with our letting go of what we want and GRABBING hold of what God wants from us. Then, he swoops in and blesses us.

LISTENING TO THE HEART OF THE MASTER: Part 2

Last weekend, Matt Johnson preached for us. It was nice to sit back and listen this week. He did a great job. I hope his notes lead you to the Master's Heart.

Matthew 5:21-26
ANGER & RELATIONSHPS

June 10, 2007

Intro:
It was an evening in early November of 2005. Red lobster was having their yearly all you can eat shrimp feast and I had been wearing Ashley down to go. I finally talked her into it one night. We were in our blazer, headed down Ridge Road to go to Red Lobster. I haven’t really found any roads here like Ridge Road yet. Fields Ertel comes close, but Ridge was much more congested. It was two lanes each direction, but the city was in the process of widening it to three lanes each way with multiple turn lanes in the center. It was dusk, the sun had set, but it wasn’t really night yet. We were about two hundred yards from a stop light and starting to slow down when I noticed a candle lit prayer vigil going on right next to the curb on my left. I remembered that a young teen had recently been killed in a car accident near that area. I looked back up, and saw that cars in front of me were stopping more rapidly, so I braked a little harder and slowed down to nearly a complete stop. The next thing I knew I felt the car jerk forward uncontrollably as I heard the crunch of someone rear ending me. I was instantly angry. The adrenaline and testosterone started flowing immediately and I was ticked. Thoughts flooded my head in a matter of seconds… This was purposeful, I knew it… She was gawking at the prayer vigil and not paying attention to the road… She better get a big ticket for this… She’s buying us a new car… I looked down and realized that my knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly because of my anger.

Rational thought flew out the window. Like she would purposefully get in a car accident that was going to cost her a ticket and raised insurance premiums, let alone the fact that she had her grandchild in the car with her at the time and would not have done anything to purposefully put her at risk.

Anger is one of the most common emotions on the spectrum of human emotions. We deal with it constantly. From minor frustrations and things that just get under our skin to people who drive us crazy to situations and circumstances which fill us with rage, anger is all around us and part of our every day lives. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be good if we got God’s take on anger?

Read Matthew 5:21-26 – Whats the passage really about?

Maybe it’s about anger in our hearts being equal to murder… (21 & 22a)
You’ve heard it said…
Exodus 20:13, one of the 10 Commandments “thou shall not murder…” Pretty self explanatory. Don’t kill anyone.
The inside feelings and thoughts of murder, hatred, etc… not addressed directly
Jesus’ take on the situation…
Anger in your heart = murder in God’s eyes.
With Jesus, it’s about the heart of the issue. What’s going on inside?

So what is anger?
American Psychological Association defines it as…
“an emotional state that varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage accompanied by muscle tension, an accelerated heartbeat, a "knot" or "butterflies" in your stomach, changes in your breathing, trembling, goose bumps, and/or being flushed in the face.”
Scripture defines it as…
Rage, wrath, provocation, passion

So, is all anger sin?
Mark 3:1-6
Jesus gets angry.
Eph 4:26-27
In your anger, don’t sin. Seems to be an option.
The emotional and biological chain reaction are not always controllable, your reaction and consequent actions are… That is what determines sin.
Righteous Anger V.S. Unrighteous Anger…

What’s worth getting angry about?

Would God be angry in this situation?

What is a Christian response to Anger?
Unrighteous Anger – Grace & Prayer
Romans 12:17-21
Righteous Anger – Grace, Prayer, Determination to action, Godly motives

Maybe it’s about our speech and our response to anger… (22b)
The normal response to anger is first verbal…
Get cut off on the road, car breaks down, trip and fall carrying something important, etc…
Luke 6:45 – out of the overflow of a mans heart his mouth speaks
What’s your heart been saying?
Eph. 4:29
Some translations “Means of grace…”
Our words in difficult situations should have the ability to show grace to those around us.
If grace is in the heart, grace should come out the mouth..

Maybe it’s about making peace with others after anger… (23 & 24)
We should make peace with others before worship?
People hearing would have had an OT context in mind…
Isaiah 1:10-17
Amos 5:21-24
God desired righteous living over worship and sacrifices
Make peace with people regardless of fault or blame…
99.9% of the time both parties are at fault in some way.
Don’t let miscommunications or assumptions drive a wedge in relationships.
This requires two things…
Radical humility…
Radical grace…
Matthew 18:15-20 – Godly confrontation
Who do you need to make peace with before coming to God?

Maybe it’s about the eternal consequences of our actions when we’re angry…(25-26)
There’s Courtroom imagery here…
Judges decision is binding and final
Settle out of court – make peace or face judgment
God’s judgment on our actions
Matt 18:21-30
Pass on grace to others…
James 2:12-13
Forgive and you’ll be forgiven…

Maybe it’s about all these things… Because it’s about right relationships at all costs…
Murder, Anger, Hatred, Verbal Attacks… all symptoms of relationships gone bad.
We serve a relational God. We’ve got to love people…
Romans 13:8-10
Love God, Love people.

Listening to the heart of the master…
Having a right relationship with God means right relationships with people at all costs, or it may cost you eternity.

LISTENING TO THE HEART OF THE MASTER: Part 1

LISTENING
"An Introduction to the Series"
June 3, 2007


REMEMBERING my “Life of Christ 1” class at Bible College.
**What I learned was that the Words of Jesus were SUPER important..
**This sermon series is about really listening.
**Jesus’ words will be all that we talk about.
**When Jesus had something important to say, he took his time and really challenged the way we look at things.

The heart of the master is where we need to be connected.
TAKE THE NEXT 28 days and read the gospel of Matthew.

Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?
*Follower
*Believer
*Supporter
*Learner
*My Favorite: DEVOTED ONE

Are you devoted to his heart? His words? His devotion?

After Jesus was tempted in the desert, he called his first disciples and began his ministry. When the ministry got noisy, he grabbed his “devoted ones” and sat down to share his heart. When his heart was poured out, it contained discourses on these things:
Our Spiritual Walk
*Who does God bless?
*Becoming salt and light.
*The commandments.

Relationships
*Anger
*Adultery
*Divorce
*Vows/Promises
*Revenge
*Neighbors and Enemies

Daily Provision
*Money
*Prayer
*Possessions

Behavior
*Judging People
*Prayer again
*Making good choices
*Discipleship
*Faith foundation