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  • MARKS GOSPEL [#22]


    I haven't kept up very well with my Pastors Sunday Morning Series in the Gospel of Mark, so, I am going to try and post the last couple months of sermons this weekend...

    Prisoners of Lust
    Mark 6: 14-29
    Pastor Dennis Rost (    02/03/2008)


    INTRO:
        • …a sensuous teenager dancing at a drinking party of male adult dignitaries?... sounds more like something from the daily newspaper than a Bible story. The truth be known, the Bible tells it like it really is, and so we see the destructive and enslaving nature of sin.


    1.  King Herod - His lust led him to carry on an ugly affair with his brother's wife, who was also his niece… to divorce his wife in order to marry her (Herodias)… and eventually to become so enthralled with his step-daughter's lewd dance so as to call for the beheading of a man he knew to be righteous.
        • his troubled conscience  (vs. 14-16)
        • his arrest & imprisonment of J.B.  (vs. 17-20)
        • his birthday party  (v. 21)
        • his lust concerning Salome  (v. 22)
        • his offer  (v. 23)
        • his sorrow  (v. 26)
        • his depravity  (v. 26-28)


    2.  Herodias - Her lust led her to indulge in an illicit affair with Herod (her husband's brother). Then, lust led to extreme hatred for the one who dared to rebuke them… gruesome hatred.
        • her HATRED   (vs. 17-19)
        • her SCHEME   (v. 21)
        • her DEMAND   (v. 25)


    3. Salome
        • her dance  (v. 22)
            >  she was a VICTIM
            >  she was a VICTIMIZER


    How did these people come to be so evil? How could they do such despicable things?

    James 1:14-15 -- “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

    Are you a prisoner of lust? Do you, like Herod, struggle with an accusing conscience? Do you find yourself doing things that you never thought you would?
        • Lust will take you TO PLACES you didn't intend TO GO.
        • It will cause you to DO THINGS you didn't intend TO DO.
        • It will cause you to HURT PEOPLE you didn't intend TO HURT.


    But you can be set free!  (cp. John 8:34-36)




  • Quote of the Week:

    "People don't earn God's approval or receive life and salvation because of anything they've done. Rather, the only reason they receive life and salvation is because of God's kindness through Christ. There is no other way"  -  Martin Luther

  • THE FRUITFUL LIFE [#4]

    PEACE
    [Fruit of the Spirit Series #4]
    Gal 5:22-25;  Phil 4:4-9

    INTRO
    •  READ Phil 4:4-9
    •  Joy & Peace are closely related (so review last weeks notes!)...
    •  Peace depends to a great deal on our EXPECTATIONS
    •  Your enemies cannot destroy your salvation or pull you out of the Fathers Hand (Jn 10:29)... BUT they can make you ineffective and miserable and take away your peace and joy!

    1. WHAT IS THE FRUIT?...  PEACE
        •  "Peace" = is confidence and trust in Gods wise control of your life.
        •  Where does peace come from? (prayer w/ thanksgiving)... how can we give thanks while we are still making our requests?... (b/c we trust God!)

    2. THE OPPOSITE OF PEACE (the weed)... ANXIETY
        •  Phil 4:6

    3. THE COUNTERFEIT OF PEACE... APATHY

    4. CULTIVATING PEACE
        •  Phil 4:8-9
        •  Peace comes from knowing and trusting in the truth of the Gospel, from intimacy with God and an assurance of your salvation
        •  FOCUS your heart on who you are in Christ (Psa 42)
        •  DO what you know from Gods Word.
        •  Fighting the WORLD, the FLESH, and the DEVIL
        •  The enemy robs your joy and peace by robbing you of the assurance of your salvation... by getting you to look more at your SINS than your SAVIOR.

    CONCLUSION
        •  I am accepted by God not because of me but because of the love and work of Jesus Christ.  I'm not good enough to be saved... it is only by the mercy of Jesus!  When we REALLY TRUST that, then we have peace.

  • THE FRUITFUL LIFE [#3]

    JOY
    [Fruit of the Spirit Series #3]
    Gal 5:22-25;  John 16:16-22


    INTRO
    •  READ John 16:16-22
    •  For the believer, SORROW is a TEMPORARY condition, whereas JOY is the PERMANENT condition
    •  “Joy” = the delight that results from our enjoyment of the unchanging privileges we have in Christ

    1. The Definition of JOY
        (a.)  vs 22 Joy is a MUST in the life of the believer
        (b.)  vs 20-22 Joy OVERLAPS with sorrow (it overshadows & overpowers it)
        (c.)  vs 22 Joy is PERMANENT and DEEP
            •  Joy is produced by Jesus... know Jesus, obey Jesus, pray to Jesus.
            •  consider 2 Cor 4:17  "For our momentary light affliction is producing

    2.  The Opposite of JOY (the weed)... HOPELESSNESS
        •  Rom 5:3
        •  1 Thess 4:13-14


    3.  The Counterfeit of JOY... Finding Satisfaction in the BLESSING instead of the BLESSER

    4.  The Cultivation of Joy
        •  Joy is based on knowing and trusting in the truth of the Gospel… knowing you have salvation, not based on your good deeds but based on the grace and mercy of a God who delights in the saving of His people!
        •  Intimacy with God produces joy... so pursue God!, and you will find deep and lasting joy without even looking for it.  The “secret” to lasting joy is to FOLLOW JESUS… period.

  • THE FRUITFUL LIFE [#2]


    LOVE
    [Fruit of the Spirit Series #2]
    Gal 5:16-25;  1 Cor 13:1-13

    INTRO:
      • Reminder... the fruit of the Spirit is a breakdown of Holiness... it is the communicable attributes of God... the attributes of God are burned into us as we continually/lovingly gaze at Him through His Word
      • Devotion to God is the only acceptable motive... am I seeking the glory of God and alignment to His Word because I love Jesus?
      • "love" = Seeks the highest good of others.  love is meeting the needs and concerns of others before or instead of your own

    1.  WHAT IS THE FRUIT?...  LOVE
        A. The Importance of Love  vs 1-3
        B. The Facets of Love  vs 4-7
          • I am PATIENT with you because I love you and want to FORGIVE you
          • I am KIND to you because I love you and want to HELP you
          • I do not ENVY your possessions or your gifts because I love you and want you to HAVE THE BEST
          • I do not BOAST about my accomplishments because I love you and want to HEAR about yours
          • I am not PROUD because I love you and want to esteem you BEFORE myself
          • I am not RUDE because I love you and care about your FEELINGS
          • I am not SELF-SEEKING because I love you and want to meet your NEEDS
          • I am not EASILY ANGERED by you because I love you and want to OVERLOOK your offenses
          • I do not keep a RECORD OF YOUR WRONGS because I love you and "love covers over a multitude of sins" (1 Pet 4:8)
        C. Love Never Fails  vs 8-13

    2.  THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE… FEAR
      • 1 Jn 4:18

    3. THE COUNTERFEIT OF LOVE… USING PEOPLE
      • the counterfeit of love... is USING PEOPLE to meet my needs, a "hunger" type of love, manipulating people, its a "need love"

    4.  THE ATTRIBUTE OF GOD
      • Eph 4:31-32 
      • the costly love of God... on display at the cross

    CONCLUSION
      • God is Love
      • Love gives, whatever the cost
      • Love sacrifices to forgive
      • Love reaches out
      • Grow in love... Study the Word, pray for the Holy Spirit to apply the Word, Obey!

  • THE FRUITFUL LIFE [#1]



    The Fruitful Life
    [Fruit of the Spirit Series #1]
    Gal 5:16-25

    INTRO:
      • When we talk about the fruit of the spirit, this is not something alien to the believer, its not something you need to "smuggle" in to your life... Its something already inside you in "seed form", if the spirit is in you then love, joy, peace, patience, etc. is already inside you... The issue becomes that you need to GROW UP!  (1 Peter 2:2;  Eph 4:15)

    1.  The Believers “TWO NATURES”
      • vs 16-18
      • Fight the good fight!  (1 Tim 6:11-12)
      • "Works" VS. "Fruit"

    2.  How Can a Christian Operate in "FLESH MODE"?
      • vs 19-21
      • The issue is motive?... am I seeking the glory of God and alignment to His Word because I love Jesus… OR… am I seeking to satisfy myself, my self interest. Am I choosing to go my own way and continue in a patter of rebellion against God?
      • every human being is bent toward living under a "works based" righteousness.

    3.  How Can a Christian Operate in "SPIRIT MODE"?
      • vs 22-25
      • The issue is motive?... do I operate out of a love for Christ and a desire to obey His Word and spread His fame?
      • “fruit of the spirit” = the communicable attributes of God
      • The only good deeds we do are the ones He enables and motivate us to do anyway.

    CONCLUSION
      • compare Eph 5:18 & Col 3:16… being spirit filled is being word filled
      • embarrass yourself... Admit the motivations  of your heart it out loud...
      • preach the Gospel to yourself everyday
      • lets get serious about giving God some focused quality time each day... Start with the fruit of the spirit... Pick some where you are already growing... Pick one or two that are weaknesses, pray for it, cultivate it.  Live by the spirit... Fight the good fight!...

  • Quote of the Week:

    "... it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are halfhearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when INFINITE JOY is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far TOO EASILY PLEASED"  -  C.S. Lewis

  • WRITTEN IN SAND OR STONE?


    Two friends were walking
    through the desert.
    during some point of the
    journey, they had an
    argument; and one friend
    slapped the other one
    in the face

    The one who got slapped
    was hurt, but without
    saying anything,
    wrote in the sand,

    Today my best friend
    slapped me in the face.

    They kept on walking,
    until they found an oasis,
    where they decided
    to take a bath .

    The one who had been
    slapped got stuck in the
    mire and started drowning,
    but the friend saved him.

    After he recovered from
    the near drowning,
    he wrote on a stone:

    “Today my best friend
    saved my life”

    The friend who had slapped
    and saved his best friend
    asked him, “after i hurt you,
    you wrote in the sand and now,
    you write on a stone, why?”

    The friend replied
    “when someone hurts us
    we should write it down
    in sand, where winds of
    forgiveness can erase it away.

    But, when someone does
    something good for us,
    we must engrave it in stone
    where no wind
    can ever erase it”

    Learn to write
    your hurts in
    the sand and to
    carve your
    benefits in stone.

     



  • Quote of the Week:

    "Christians are people who love the truth
    at any cost"      -  Pliny the Younger*

    * A Roman Governor in AD 112 who was ordered to persecute Christians but had great respect for their love of truth


  • THINKING ABOUT: DEFENDING THE FAITH

    This message is taken from a message by Greg Koukl of the apologetics ministry Stand to Reason (www.str.org).  Stand to Reason does an excellent job of making apologetics practical.  This particular message on Tactics for Defending the Faith has been particularly helpful to me.

    Tactics in Defending the Faith

    INTRO
    o  Col 2:8  "Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ" HCSB

    o  not forcing an idea, but using their terminology
    o  should be ENJOYABLE... the other person does all the works
    o  remember, you have a HUGE advantage... Christianity is TRUE!
    o  to be effective you need...
        >  knowledge - an accurately informed mind
        >  wisdom - an artful method
        >  character - an attractive manner
    o  why are tactics important!
        >  we have an enemy... we are in a battle...
        >  we are trying to gain ground for the kingdom...
    o  some of the critical issues we face...
        >  The problem of evil
        >  The identity of Jesus
        >  Other Religions, or the exclusivity of Christianity
        >  religious pluralism, or all religions are the same
        >  the trustworthiness of the Scriptures
        >  ethical issues (abortion, doctor assisted suicide, homosexuality)
        >  The ethical straitjacket
        >  The record of Christians
    o  TACTICS ARE NOT TRICKS... the goal is not to make people look foolish or verbally beat up people.  We want to be direct and truthful but not rude and abrasive.  We seek to clear away foolish beliefs so that the other person may see the gospel more clearly. THE GOAL IS TO PUT A "STONE" IN THEIR SHOE!
    o  Now, lets consider 4 HELPFUL TACTICS IN DEFENDING THE FAITH...

    1.  QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS
      o  Ask intelligent, penetrating questions
          >  Good questions focus attention, & naturally move a conversation along
          >  Good questions BUY time & SELL rope…
          >  Good questions helps you get in, and stay in the drivers seat
          >  Good questions gain information and keep you out of the hot seat (this is not a trick, REALLY listen)
          >  Good questions reverse the burden of proof
          >  Good questions expose & exploit a weakness or flaw in someone's view
      o  the one who makes the CLAIM bears the BURDEN of proof...
          >  too often someone makes a claim and we feel we have to refute an argument... instead they have to defend their claim.
          >  don't take on the burden if its not ours to take
          >  if someone just spins a story they have to articulate an argument, not just make a claim
      o  helps you go on the offensive in a disarming way with carefully selected questions to productively advance the conversation.
      o  Some SAMPLE Questions...
          >  What do you MEAN by that?... make them define their terms
          >  How did you come to that CONCLUSION?... or How do you kow that is true?, many merely repeat what they are told
          >  Why should I believe what you BELIEVE?...
          >  Have you ever CONSIDERED...? give an alternative (EX: have you ever considered that the "problem of evil" is actually an evidence FOR the existence of God?)
          >  What if you are WRONG about what you believe? (AND YOU DIE?)
      o  SOME EXAMPLES...
          >  have you ever considered how difficult it would be to remove something from the bible seeing as how there were thousands of manuscripts floating around?
          >  have you ever considered that the "problem of evil" is actually an evidence for the existence of God?
          >  have you ever considered that there is a total lack of evidence for the concept of life coming from inanimate matter?
          >  have you ever considered that if the Bible were merely written by men that it becomes very difficult to explain the hundreds of fulfilled prophesies?
          >  have you ever considered that if homosexuality is truly "natural" then nature gave them a sexual apparatus that can never work for its intended purpose?
          >  have you ever considered that if partial birth abortion is acceptable then it will become difficult to condemn infantacide?
          >  have you ever considered that if Jesus is wrong about His claim to be God it then becomes difficult to classify Him as a "good man"?

    2.  EXPOSING SELF-DEFEATING Ideas
      o  some ideas are "self-refuting"… they commit suicide on their own if you merely point it out…
      o  "I cannot speak a word of english" is self refuting if spoken in english
      o  "there are no absolute truths"... are you sure?... "absolutely!"
      o  "you can't know anything for sure"... really, are you sure about that?...
      o  "there is no truth"... really, is that true?
      o  "all religions are true"... then Christianity is true, but Christianity says all other religions are false.
      o  "I don't believe anything unless I can prove it scientifically"... really, what scientific experiment taught you that only science can teach you the truth
      o  "you can only know the truth by experience"... really, what experience taught you that you can only know truth by experience

    3.  EXPOSING ILLOGICAL CONCLUSIONS
      o  adopt the others viewpoint for the sake of argument... take their view seriously... then take their view to its natural & logical conclusion
      o  if your point of view leads to a RIDICULOUS conclusion then there is something wrong with your point of view
      o  take their view seriously and then reflect it back to them in a straightforward way... can they live in the world that they are promoting?... can they live with the CONSEQUENCES of their beliefs?
      o  SOME EXAMPLES
          >  "there are no moral absolutes"... then steal their TV!... if they claim that is wrong then they have admitted the illogical nature of their claim

    4.  Avoiding the STEAMROLLER
      o  not a tactic you use, but one you defend against
      o  A "steamroller" asks constant questions, challenges, and claims that are unrelenting... they overpower you with words and attitude... their goal is NOT to engage you in dialogue but simply to roll over you
      o  its alot easier to ask the hard questions than to listen to the hard answers...
      o  3 step defense against a steamroller
          >  "STOP, and NEGOTIATE an agreement"... The rule is one question at a time.
          >  "SHAME them"... oh, I thought you wanted to have a conversation, apparently you want to do all the talking, thats OK, I'm a good listener, just tell me when your finsihed.
          >  "LEAVE them"...
      o  "give me your best question"... and then negotiate how they will respond if you give them a satisfying answer!
      o  when they are nasty, you be gracious!... remember, your Christlike attitude may not win over the "steamroller", BUT it may win over those around you who are listening in.

    CONCLUSION
    *  practice, practice, practice
    *  know your bible
    *  push yourself beyond your comfort zone
    *  questions, self-defeating ideas, logical conclusions, dealing with steamrollers
    *  you now have some training... use it!... be a force to be reckoned with for the kingdom of God!
    *  be a good ambassador!