God is the Gospel - Lesson 6

Defining the Gospel

Event - Death and Resurrection

Achievement - Atonement/Payment

Offer - Salvation by Faith

Application - Living in Light of the Gospel

1 Cor 15:1-4 

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

When Christ died the wrath of God was absorbed by Him. 

Gal 3:13  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"—

Christ paid the debt for our sins.

1Pe 2:24  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 

Christ's life of perfection opened the door for us to own His righteousness.

Rom 5:19  For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 

Christ purchased eternal life for us.

Rom 5:20  Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 

Rom 5:21  so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through (Christs) righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God is the Gospel - Lesson 5

"For God so loved the world..." 

What is is about this statement that is remarkable? Is it because it shows the inherent value of the world? We are so great that even God loves us? No! rather it is a statement about the remarkable nature of God, that He loves us even though we are inherently unlovely.

God derives joy from us finding our joy in Him. God delights in us delighting in Him. I should find my joy in every gift because I find my joy in God. God likes to see me deriving pleasure from His gifts. And even seeking pleasure in His gifts but never to the point where the gifts are the focus. 

I can glorify God by being. If the heavens can declare God's glory by simply being, how much more can I declare Gods glory by just being. The heavens are beautiful even though they are lifeless. I am created in the image of God, full of life, with a will, emotions, passions, actions, thoughts, and desires. 

God is the Gospel - Week 3

Philippians 1:19-21

For I know that through your prayers and the help of the 

Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 

as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all 

ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will 

be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Being ashamed and being courageous are put at odds in this passage. The reason we can be courageous is that living means more of Christ, He is glorified and His nature is exemplified, and dying means more of Christ, we see Him face to face. Whether we live or die we have great gain. So I am not ashamed, not because I am being honored, but because Christ is being honored. 

22-23

If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. 

Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 

I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is 

to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

Philippians 3:7-8

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of 

Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing 

worth of knowing Christ Jesus my lord. For his sake I have

suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, 

in order that I may gain Christ.

What is Love? 

Commonly to be loved is to be made much of. To me made to feel good about yourself. A person feels loved when they are made to feel significant. 

Biblical love means: God loves us by doing everything he need to do, at great cost to himself, to remove every obstacle that keeps us from knowing Him. God's love has no place for boosting egos and making people feel falsely good about themselves. God's love is a love of absolute truth. God is the only one who can perfectly love by pointing to Himself as the end-all. 

How do love and glory relate to each other? God's love and His desire to show His glory are work perfectly together. Because the expression of God's glory is best for us, God's perfect love is perfectly fulfilled by showing us His glory. Jesus purposefully let Lazarus die because he loved Mary and Martha. He knew that it would be better for them to see him raised than to see him healed. 

Love is when God gets you to God. 

Something Inspirational

Just kidding. I don't really have anything to say. So this is the part where I proceed to say nothing.
I'm not really sure about a lot of things right now. Definitely no profound statements or confident claims coming from this direction.
I've been working at Summers Auto Sales for about 2 1/2 months now. Apparently they like me. I looked for an EMT job today. No success on that front. Part of me wonders if I really want to work in EMS. Another part of me knows I do. At least for a while. I've wondered if saving peoples lives will give me some great sense of accomplishment or purpose. I don't think it really will. Real satisfaction doesn't seem to come from what I do. I know this.
Change is coming. Maybe not quickly. Maybe it will be slow and hardly noticeable. Maybe it will happen overnight. I want to see it coming and prepare. But I don't know what will change, or how.
I want to do something. Something bold. Something that says 'I refuse to live in monotony.' But the only things I can think to do are the same things I do every day. Every week. And I guess that's not bad. How does the saying go, 'The way you spend your minutes is the way you spend your life'?
I want to invest in people. And I do. Sometimes. I want to be better at this.  I don't want to be too lazy or too scared to love the people around me.
I want to live more conscious of the constant presence of God. He said, 'Abide in Me.' I want to stay there. Not just hang out on weekends.
I think I need a hobby. And probably another paycheck. Why do those always have to go together?

God is the Gospel - Week 2 Day 1-4

Spiritual Gifts
According to 1 Cor. 12:4-12 why does God supply manifestations of the Spirit?
For building up the church and encouraging individuals.
What is the 'more excellent way' talked about in vs. 31?
More important than spiritual gifts is love. Without love spiritual gifts are worse than useless.
Signs and Wonders
God often authenticates His works by signs and wonders, however false signs and wonders are shown all the time to try to lead people away from God. How do we differentiate between true and false signs and wonders?
The true work of God will always line up with His revealed nature. God never contradicts Himself. True signs and wonders always give glory to God. False signs and wonders lift up the individual as great.

God is the Gospel - Day 3-4

Day 3
Isaiah 64:4
From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.

2 Chronicles 16:9
For the eyes of the lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.

Acts 17:24-25
The God who made the world and everything in it, being lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

What is the truth that runs through all these passages? God is the giver of life and the supporter of those who wait blamelessly for Him. God works for us. He doesn't wait for us to work for Him.
What is the danger of twisting this truth? We begin to lose responsibility for our actions. We blame God for our failures and expect Him to spoon-feed us all our successes.


Day 4
Do we only desire God?

Psalm 73:25-26
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Is there any place for a desiring anything other than God? God gives His children good gifts. If we take those gifts and look to them as the giver of please they become idols, but if we accept them as gifts from God, give Him glory and thanks, and enjoy them as the expression of God heart, then they are truly good. Taking pleasure in a gift is not wrong. Looking to the gift as the source of pleasure, rather than the giver of the gift, is wrong.
Augustine - “He loves Thee too little who loves anything together with
Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake.”

1 Timothy 4:4-5

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,  for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

God is the Gospel - Day 1

http://dwynrhh6bluza.cloudfront.net/resources/documents/1738/sggg.pdf?1282936541
What's so great about heaven?
Q1: What will heaven be like? Why will it be enjoyable? How does my perception of heaven differ from popular opinion?
Honestly, I haven't really thought about heaven much. If I know anything of God's nature it will be not only better than anything I can imagine, but completely different than anything I can comprehend right now.
Why will I enjoy it? Because the best, highest Good will be there. And I'll see Him face to face and be like Him. That is what I was designed for. That is the greatest satisfaction and enjoyment I could ever experience.
How does my view differ from what's commonly understood about heaven? It seems that most people think of heaven as an escape from hardship. They get to leave everything unpleasant behind and live in a gold-filled, cloud city spa. In a huge mansion. Probably with a harp and angel wings. But regardless of whether or not there are gates made of pearl, it's going to be luxurious and nobody will ever be sad or have to do anything they don't want to. Oh yeah, I think God might be there too...
So could I be satisfied in heaven without God? I'll up the stakes. I think a better question is: If God were in hell (eternal torment) and sin and Satan were in heaven (eternal luxury) where would I rather be? The answer is, I would rather be where my treasure is. The only reason my heart desires heaven is because everything I treasure is hidden in my Father. I don't care where He is, I want to be with Him.
Q2: Why do I believe in Jesus?
The same reason I choose to believe in anything else. Because it's true. Because it's real. I cannot believe in something or someone simply because I believe the belief will be good for me. I cannot believe a lie that I think will help me. God help me, I believe in Him because I believe He is TRUE, not because I think I'll be blessed with a nice life and a get-out-of-hell-free card.