SOAKED IN JOY: part 6

JOY COMES THROUGH RELIANCE ON JESUS
April 27, 2008
with Adam Waters

During my first internship, the teens at the church introduced me to a game called buck-buck. In this game, one team of 10-20 creates a wall by locking arms around each other's waists. The other team takes a run, leap frogs onto the other team's back trying to break the wall down. Here's a link with some official rules. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_buck Here's a wonderful video of it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1-ItWX6hAg&feature=related You have to rely on each other to create a wall. Together you are much stronger than you are apart from one another.

Where have we been with joy?
· JOY COMES THROUGH THE STORY OF JESUS à Philippians 1:1-11
· JOY COMES THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS à 1:12-26
· JOY COMES THROUGH SERVICE TO JESUS à 1:27-2:18
· JOY COMES THROUGH SUFFERING FOR JESUS à 2:19-3:11
· JOY COMES THROUGH AUTHENTICITY WITH JESUS à3:12-4:1

As a swimmer, I will…
n SATISFY the Spirit’s leading.
n WIN the battles of the flesh.
n INHERIT the Kingdom.
n MANIFEST the character of God.

SWIMMING LESSON: JOY comes through reliance on Jesus
n Philippians 4:4 “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!”
n Joyful reliance looks forward. 4:5
n Joyful reliance removes worry. 4:6-7
n Joyful reliance changes thought and actions. 4:8-9
n Joyful reliance brings contentment and thankfulness. 4:10-20

CLOSE
Are you ready to rely on him? The places where we are taking you next hinge on your surrender to Jesus being the Lord of your life.
In the game of "buck-buck," you must be hinged to your partners when the opponenets come crashing down on your backs. In life, our joy must be hinged to our Lord Jesus (we must rely on him) or life will come crashing down on your back and you WILL collapse.

SOAKED IN JOY: part 5

JOY COMES THROUGH AUTHENTICITY WITH JESUS
April 20, 2008
with Adam Waters

INTRO:
Ashley Johnson did a detailed bank description of finding authentic dollar bills.
Movie: LEAP OF FAITH with Steve Martin. Tell the story of the little boy who is healed. Watch out for the genuine article.

READ 3:12-4:1
Paul IS the genuine article in his faith… in his relationship with Jesus… and he’s calling us.

GETTING RID OF WASTE
• Philippians 4:1 ~ “Dear friends, I love you and long to see you, for you are my joy and the reward for my work. So PLEASE stay true to the Lord.”
• STEAKO – stay true; steady in God; stand inside the Lord; stand firm in the fullness of your Master
• In this place, STEAKO-ed with Jesus, you cannot be anything short of true, real, authentic.

As a swimmer, I will…
 SATISFY the Spirit’s leading.
 WIN the battles of the flesh.
 INHERIT the Kingdom.
 MANIFEST the character of God.

SWIMMING LESSON: JOY comes through authenticity with Jesus
 Authentic joy comes by standing firm in your growth. KEEP LEARNING TO SWIM!
 Authentic joy comes by standing firm in your obedience. DO NOT WAVER FROM TRUTH!
 Authentic joy comes by standing firm in your following. PATTERN YOUR LIFE AFTER JESUS and HIS SERVANTS. (our footprints in his)
 REMEMBER: This is honest, real joy!
Life can’t take away your relationship to Jesus because it’s not a fake one.
You cannot hide who you are to Jesus.
Yell, kick, scream at him if you need to.
Some of us want to hide who are kids are at home.
50 years of marriage for Al/Barb: they let it out.
NO FALSEHOOD brings authentic joy in Christ.

When people see you, can they see that you're the real deal?

SOAKED IN JOY: part 4

JOY COMES THROUGH SUFFERING FOR JESUS
April 13, 2008
with Adam Waters

INTRO: Growing up in Illinois, my favorite sport has always been basketball. Hoosiers was for during season, but WHITE ME CAN’T JUMP was for the off-season. Tell of Billy Hoyle’s (Woody Harrelson) struggles… and Wesley Snipes always bailing him out of trouble.
Besides basketball, another of my passions is playing cards. So when the movie ROUNDERS came out, we went right away to see it in the theatre. Tell of Matt Damon’s relationship to Worm (Ed Norton). Worm was always making bad decisions and Mike (Damon) felt like he had to help him because, “no one had ever stood up for Worm before.”
Both Snipes and Damon, felt that their friends were their “cross to bear.” Today, we need to discuss what it means to bear our cross…

GETTING RID OF WASTE
I want to uncover 4 MYTHS ABOUT SUFFERING
**If I become a Christian, my life will get easier. (John 16:33- I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”)
**If you’re a Christian and suffering, it’s because you’ve sinned. (Matthew 5:45 - For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.)
**If you’re suffering, you’re operating outside God’s will. (John 9:1-3 ~ As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.) JOSEPH story also.
**Suffering isn’t good for me. (James 1:2-4 ~ Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.)

As a swimmer, I will…
SATISFY the Spirit’s leading.
WIN the battles of the flesh.
INHERIT the Kingdom.
MANIFEST the character of God.

Philippians 2:29-3:11
SWIMMING LESSON: JOY comes through suffering for Jesus
We need to recognize that SUFFERING is easier with friends. (2:19-24)
Those who’ve endured SUFFERING deserve an open home. (2:25-30)
SUFFERING is worse when our eyes are closed. (3:1-3)
After we’ve endured SUFFERING our perspective changes. (3:4-11)

WRAP IT UP:
Snipes and Damon had their crosses to bear. Many of us run from our crosses! OR have already run OR are right now running from your cross to bear. As a Christian, you have a cross to bear… it’s being a follower of Jesus. It’s bearing His cross. One that has pain in this life sometimes (not all), but has a great retirement program (refer to Jesus in Philippians 2).

SOAKED IN JOY: part 3

JOY COMES THROUGH SERVICE TO JESUS
April 6, 2008
with Adam Waters

PLEASE READ: Philippians 1:27-2:18

INTRO
One of my son’s favorite Veggie Tales is MOE AND THE BIG EXIT. In this story of Moses, Larry tries to accomplish all kinds of things on his own. He can't do it without God's help. God has called all of us to a life with him that we can't do on our own. It's a little overwhelming when we think of trying to follow Jesus with all of our lives and trying to do it on our own power. Can you imagine if God told Moses, "go turn your staff into a snake, water into blood, make it dark for 3 days, kill all the firstborn... OK moses I'll catch up with you later. Bye!" He could not accomplish God's plan for his life without God's help... AND neither can we.

GETTING RID OF WASTE
 We’ve looked at joy and faith the past 2 weekends.
 Today, I want to look at Humble Service.
 There are 3 different Greek words in this passage.
 Two have the idea of going lower.
 One has the idea of emptying yourself for someone else’s gain.
 They have the idea that we recognize that our own strength is insufficient… but it also recognizes the powerful sufficiency of God’s strength.
 MOE AND THE BIG EXIT: “What God has called you to do is far beyond your own strength.”

As a swimmer, I will…
 SATISFY the Spirit’s leading.
 WIN the battles of the flesh.
 INHERIT the Kingdom.
 MANIFEST the character of God.

SWIMMING LESSON: JOY comes through service to Jesus
 JOYFUL SERVICE is bold. (1:27-30) Our rally cry is to stand together, fight together (pray), and not be intimidated. It is a priviledge to struggle.
 JOYFUL SERVICE is tenderhearted. (2:1-4) We unite, compromise and love each other so that we can be a compassionate examples as we serve.
 JOYFUL SERVICE is humble. (2:5-11) Empty yourself, enter God's design for your life and reap the eternal rewards.
 JOYFUL SERVICE works hard. (2:12-14) We must be disciplined in our obedience when our leaders are near or far. We must do it through God's power. We must do it without complaining.
 JOYFUL SERVICE shines. (2:15-18) Represent! No one wants a t-shirt that says, "I'm gonna be dim for Jesus!" Hold tight to God's word so that you can live a pure life that SHINES!

WRAP IT UP: When we're going thru tough times with our family, job or finances, many of us will lose ourselves in our jobs/work. Today: begin to realize that joy will never be found in that answer. Instead, lose yourself in HIS work. Pour out your life like a drink offering as Paul did.