What Are We Made Of?
The DNA of Millville Avenue
Part 2: Upward
The mission of the Millville Avenue Church of God is to help people know God, to grow people into fully devoted disciples of Jesus, and to equip people to go impact their world for Christ.
Icebreaker: Two elderly women were out driving in a large car and both could barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along they came to an intersection. The stoplight was red but they just went on through. The woman in the passenger seat thought to herself "I must be losing it, I could have sworn we just went through a red light."
After a few more minutes they came to another intersection and the light was red again and again they went right through. This time the woman in the passenger seat was almost sure that the light had been red but was really concerned that she was losing it. She was getting nervous and decided to pay very close attention to the road and the next intersection to see what was going on.
At the next intersection, sure enough, the light was definitely red and they went right through and she turned to the other woman and said, "Mildred! Did you know we just ran through three red lights in a row! You could have killed us!" Mildred turned to her and said, "Oh, am I driving?"
Brothers and sisters, the way things are going in our world and country we wonder who’s driving or if anyone is driving at all.
We live in a world of unrest and untruth. Turn on the TV and listen to the news. Read it in the paper. It’s everywhere.
Intro: Let me ask you: what’s driving your life? Better question: When it comes to your life, WHO is in the driver’s seat? You see, whether we realize it or not, we all yearn for some kind of authority to give us guidance. Some of us turn to ourselves for that final authority, only to find that we really don’t know as much as we think we do. Some of us turn to our respective political parties, only to find that in the end, they let us down. Some of us turn to bumper-sticker philosophies like, “Life is about learning to dance in the rain,” or “No matter where you go, there you are.” Cute, right? Easy to remember. But that’s doesn’t do you much good when where you go isn’t where you want to be. Or when dancing in the rain only leaves you feeling cold and wet.
-By the way, I actually looked up some bumper-sticker philosophy and I have to say that my favorite is, “Eat Well, Stay Fit….Die anyway.” For all the health nuts here today.
-It was about A.D. 50, some forty years before John wrote his Gospel,
PHILO, a Jew of Alexandria, COINED a word that lumped all the
knowable things of God into a single package. That word was LOGOS.
In this word "LOGOS" was compressed all that the JEWS and GREEKS knew
of the reasoning and manifestations of God. It was a useful term and
people soon began to refer to the "Logos" rather than go into detail
about the way God worked in human affairs. So the term "Logos" was
the common way of referring to God’s revelation of Himself. When
those asked what is it that God does and how does He interact with
mankind - they would simply express that "GOD IS THE LOGOS." There
was an understanding here as to how our God worked in humanity.
By the time John was ready to begin the writing of his Gospel, the
term LOGOS was the common way of referring to God’s revelation of
Himself. Of course it was an ABSTRACT an IMPERSONAL Reference. No
one ever thought of ASCRIBING it to an individual; that is, no one
until John when he was praying about how to begin writing this
particular Gospel that it might enhance the Synoptic writers. And
then the Holy Spirit communicated to John saying why not use this
term that most are familiar with. Holy Spirit said John you can use
this as a POINT OF ORDER and let your readers know that JESUS is the
LOGOS in which they are so found of referencing. There are some that
think the only function of the Holy Spirit is to cause you to JUMP,
SHOUT, and RUN AROUND the church Sunday after Sunday. Therefore, if
we are not looking all ugly and Bad Extensions falling out of our
head - throwing blankets over sisters when they fall out - then the
Holy Spirit is not present. I want you to know that I learned just
as John learned 2,000 years ago, the Holy Spirit will TALK to Us -
LED and GUIDE us into all TRUTH. The Holy Spirit is not all about
the Shout, He is the INTELLIGENT factor within us that will not
only cause you to SHOUT when everyone is in close Proximity to RUN
when no when is Chasing you and to JUMP when you are not frightened -
but will also Lead us to LIVE a CHRISTLIKE LIFE when we come back
down - only happen by understanding the Word.
Today’s Focus: To help people know God. (Matt. 22:37-40)
Scripture: Matthew 22:37-40
“Jesus replied: " ’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
-This is what we’re going for. That lost people would come to know God and love Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Our First Two Core Values
1. The Bible is our authority for life. (Rom. 15:4)
Statement: I think it’s safe to say that we live in a world where everything including truth is considered relative. What one person believes to be truth may not be what another sees as truth, and we are taught to believe that this is acceptable? We live in a time when subjective thought reigns supreme.
-With this attitude permeating every aspect of life its not surprising that even the Bible has come up for debate, even by those who call themselves Christians openly question its content and authority. With this being said I believe the first thing that we need to see is that Scripture is….
-I like one of the old songs we sing sometimes that’s in your hymnals that says, “The Bible is our rule of faith and Christ alone is Lord. All we are equal in His sight when we obey His Word.”
-An unknown writer said, "This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity.
-A few weeks back we wrapped up our series in the book of Romans, and I want to remind you of what Paul said in Romans 15:4:
Scripture: Romans 15:4
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
-If you’re not allowing God’s Word to be the authority for your life, you can’t experience the encouragement Paul is talking about and you will never find hope for your life. It’s that simple. Really. When we turn to other sources for truth and for authority in our lives, we stray away from the truth that God wants to reveal to us through His Word and we end up frustrated, tired, discouraged, and disillusioned. And we get to that point and we wonder, “How did I get here? What happened to get me to this terrible place in my life?”
-You got there by not letting the Bible be your authority for living. What happened was that you took your orders from someone other than God’s Spirit. And this vicious cycle will keep repeating itself in your life as long as you keep disregarding God’s Word.
-This applies to all areas of our lives. You know, God really does know what’s best for us! If you’ve been zoned out for a second, listen up and hear this: God’s really does know what’s best for you! And He wants what’s best for you! And He reveals what He wants for your life in His Word.
-If you don’t believe that God knows what’s best and wants what is best for you, just think about this:
-
2. God speaks through His Word, prayer, and worship.
Illustration: But how does God speak to us? Some people literally spend their whole lives waiting on an audible voice. Do you ever wish God would just speak to you in an audible voice? I know I do, sometimes. But can you imagine if God really did that? Can you imagine how freaked out we would be? Like, you’re driving on the interstate going 75 miles per hour and all of the sudden there’s this big booming voice out of nowhere says, “BEHOLD.” You’d cause a 10 car pile-up.
Questions:
Statement: God speaks through His Word, prayer, and worship.
-And generally speaking, that’s the correct order to think of them it. First of all, God speaks through His Word. If it’s in there, you don’t need to pray about whether you should or you shouldn’t. Just do it. Obey God’s Word. If it’s a little more of a gray area (and let’s be honest, there ARE gray areas) then you should spend some serious time in prayer about it. Seek God’s direction. He’ll guide your heart exactly to where He wants it to be. He’ll take you exactly where He wants you to go. And then, God speaks through worship. That’s those times where you’re singing in church or hearing a sermon and God’s Spirit just impresses something so heavily on your heart that you can’t get away from it. You know those times, don’t you? Listen, don’t play those moments down. They are powerful instances when God is moving us emotionally so that can respond mentally and physically. In other words, God uses worship to stir our hearts so that we can in turn serve Him with our hands.
-So those are the 3 ways God generally speaks to us. He can speak in whatever way He wants to, but His Word, prayer, and worship are the 3 ways He speaks to us most often. Now, I don’t know if you see this or not, but notice those 3 things: His Word, prayer, and worship. To me, when I think about those things, they seem to be pretty connected to each other, don’t they? They seem to me like they’re interwoven.
-I mean, think about it. If I’m not in God’s Word, if I’m not making reading and studying His Word part of my daily life, then the last thing I’m going to want to do is spend time with God in prayer. Right? And then you know what? If I’m not spending time with God in prayer, the last thing I’m going to feel like doing is worshipping. Right?
-Some of you in here have been piddling along at a level of spiritual mediocrity for years and you feel like there’s just…something…missing from your experience as a Christian. You know what I’m talking about if you’re going through it. You’re struggling with your faith and you feel like you haven’t heard the voice of God in forever. Have you stopped to consider the reasons you seem to be stuck?
-It’s been said that if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’re got to get what you’ve always gotten. And to expect any different is insanity. So be honest with yourself and with God. If you’re having trouble hearing His voice in your life, could it be that the problem is on your end? Be brutally honest with yourself. Are you spending time in God’s Word daily? Do you have a vibrant prayer life or are most of your prayers of the, “Now I lay me down to sleep…” variety? When you come in here on Sunday mornings, have you really come to worship or just to be entertained?
-You see, God’s probably not going to speak if you’re not listening. And we listen best through His Word, prayer, and worship.
• God speaks through these 3 methods on both individual and corporate levels. So let’s look at those this morning before we close.
A. God speaks through His Word.
Individually: 2 Tim. 2:15
Scripture: 2 Tim. 2:15
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
Corporately: 2 Tim. 3:16
Scripture: 2 Tim. 3:16
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”
B. God speaks through prayer.
Individually: 1 John 5:14-15
Scripture: 1 John 5:14-15
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”
Corporately: Acts 1:14; Acts 12:1-17; James 5:16
Scripture: Acts 1:14
“They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.”
Scripture: James 5:16
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
C. God speaks through worship.
Individually: Psalm 103:1-5
David was a man in the Bible who really understood what it meant to worship God and hear from Him in worship.
Scripture: Psalm 103:1-5
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Corporately: Psalm 100:1-3; 2 Chron. 7:1-3
Scripture: Psalm 100:1-3
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Scripture: 2 Chron. 7:1-3
1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, "He is good; his love endures forever."
I need the Logos - the Word today
-- I can slack on the Choir but Give Me Some Word
-- Deacons don’t have to Pray angelically but Give Me Some Word
-- Praise Team does not have to Harmonize but Give Me Some Word
- When I misbehave the Word will Fix me -- When I fall out it is
only the Word that can Fix me -- When I mis-step the Word will
bring me back into fellowship - Give Me Some Word
Conclusion/Invitation
-Dads, do you know God? Today is the day to step up and be the man God has called you to be.
