Access Church

You never know what you have until it's gone.

You never know what you have until it’s time.

Cramming

Psalm 50:23a (NLT) // "But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me…”

Thankfulness is not a season, it’s a way of life.

Find Joy

John 15:11 // I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Joy = “internal stability in spite of external circumstances because of the knowledge that God is in control.” - Dr. Tony Evans

Finding joy helps us live a life of thankfulness.

Joy is a choice.

Finding joy is FREE!

Look Around

Psalm 34:1 ESV // I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Thankfulness is not about what you want, but what you already have.

Looking at all God has done for us helps us live a life of thankfulness.

Receive Thankfully

Psalm 116:12 NIV // What shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me?

Psalm 116:12 NLT // What can I offer the LORD for all he has done for me?

Psalm 116:13 NIV // I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.

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Feel Thankful

Gap

Ingratitude

Luke 17:11-19 // 11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

He went back to thank the one who enabled him to move forward.

The nine… where?

They felt it. They didn’t express it.

Unexpressed gratitude communicates ingratitude.

Gratitude to God is worship.

1. Gratitude produces worship.

1. Todah - A thanksgiving choir

2. Barak - To kneel in thanksgiving

3. Tehillah - To sing a song of thanksgiving

4. Halal - To give thanks by being clamorously foolish

5. Yadah - To give thanks with extended hands

6. Zamar - To give thanks with a musical instrument

7. Shabach - To give thanks in a loud tone, to shout

Psalm 100:4 // Enter into His gates with thanksgiving (Today - A thanksgiving choir), and into his courts with praise (Tehillah - To sing a song of thanksgiving). Be thankful (Yadah - To give thanks with extended hands) to Him, and bless (Barak - To kneel in thanksgiving) His name. 

Psalm 100:4 (Paraphrase) // Enter into His gates with a thanksgiving choir and into His courts with singing praises. Be thankful by extending your hands to Him, and bless Him by bowing before His name. 

2. Miracles produce gratitude.

3. Obedience produces miracles. 

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Often, in order to go fast, we must first go slow

A delay does not indicate disinterest on God's part

Genesis 39:1-19  //  "Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said. "Come to bed with me!" But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "My master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

Your delay has the potential to position you

Genesis 40:14  //  "But when all goes well with you, remember me, and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison."

What happens to you in your delay directly connects with what happens through you afterwards.

What are the predictable persons, places, or things that have the potential to hinder your destiny?

Genesis 41:1  //  "When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream."

Many of life's most valuable lessons are mined from the most difficult moments.

Hebrews 12:11  //  "No discipline seems pleasant at the time: it's painful in the moment. But later on, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it"

John 16:33  //  "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Galatians 6:9  //  "Do not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest, if you do not give up."

Philippians 1:6  //  "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it."

Philippians 4:8  //  "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things"

If you lack depth and determination you'll quit something that's difficult at the earliest explainable opportunity.

Genesis 50:20  //  "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives"

DELAYED DESTINY PRAYER: What do you want to develop in me through this?

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God is over fear for me!

Psalm 111:10  //  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

Good Fear

Bad Fear

Trust God’s Care

1 Peter 5:7  //   “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

God will take care of us.

"God cannot be less than Himself. And God is good. And active. And faithful. And He cares." ~ Anne Graham Lotz

Trust God’s Comfort

Isaiah 41:10  //  So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

God will comfort us.

Trust God’s Control

Psalm 115:3  //  “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.”

God is in control.

I’m over fear because God cares for me.

I’m over fear because God comforts me.

I’m over fear because God is in control.

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What causes division?

1. Prolonged Stress

2. Politicized Cultures

3. Personal Attacks

4. Pessimistic Outlooks

John 17:20-23  //  “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

A divided world needs a unified church!

WHY PRAY FOR UNITY?

1. Because we desperately need EACH OTHER.

Romans 12:4-5 NLT  //  Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

Unity is not Uniformity.

2. Because the world will see GOD'S LOVE.

Romans 15:7  //  Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

John 13:34-35  //  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Disagreement is unavoidable.

Division is a choice.

3. Because we can do INFINITELY MORE together.

Acts 4:32-34  //  All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33...And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them...

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Genesis 2 & John 19

"The Wounding of Adam"

Genesis 2:21-22 (ESV)  //  So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

Genesis 3 & Luke 24

"Verbs"

Genesis 3:6-7 (ESV)  //  she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened

Luke 2 & 23

"Corresponding Beginning and Ending"

John 4

"A Wife at the Well"

John 4:12 (ESV)  //  Are you greater than our father Jacob?

Mark 4

"Who is in The Boat?"

Mark 4:41 (ESV)  //  "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

Luke 2

"Mary Loses Jesus"

Luke 2:43 (ESV)  //  the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it

David and Goliath

"Giants Defeated"

1 Samuel 17:54a  //  David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem

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What is the foundation on which I will build my life?

You will build your life on the wisdom of this world or of the Word.

Genesis 3:1 // “Did God really say…”

When my opinion doesn’t align with Scripture, I assume that I am wrong.

Psalm 119:81 (GW) // My soul is weak from waiting for you to save me. My hope is based on your word.

Matthew 7:24-25 // “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

3 Attitudes Toward the Word of God:

1. Gratitude

James 1:16-18 // Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.

Romans 10:17 (NKJV) // So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God

2. Humility

James 1:19-20 // My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

How do I make my life line up with what it says?

“If your god never disagrees with you, you might just be worshiping an idealized version of yourself.” - Timothy Keller

1 Thessalonians 2:13 // And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

“The sign of a God-changed heart is that I like for God to tell me how to live.” - Pastor Chris Hodges

3. Hunger

James 1:22-25 // Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

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“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” - A.W. Tozer

“We tend by secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.” - A.W. Tozer

If you have a flawed view of God, you will have a flawed life with God.

Matthew 3:16-17 // 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Matthew 17:5 // While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Identity

Affection

Affirmation

“Everyone has 3 fundamental needs, according to science: to feel safe, to feel like we belong, and to feel like we matter.” - Inc. Magazine

6 Types of Fathers:

Absent

Abusive

Performance-based

Passive

Antagonist

Empowering

Psalm 68:4-6 //  Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,

extol him who rides on the clouds;

rejoice before him—his name is the Lord.

5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,

is God in his holy dwelling.

6 God sets the lonely in families,

he leads out the prisoners with singing;

but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

Matthew 7:7-11 //  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

How does God see us?

1. I am loved.

1 John 3:1 // See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

“The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for.” - Mother Teresa

2. I am free

Romans 8:14-15 // For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

3. I am a child of God

Romans 8:16-17 // The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

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Where did it all go wrong?

Are you stuck?

When did you get stuck?

How do you get un-stuck?

 

What is my faith in?

Is my faith in God’s character or His hand?

Pain is not a sign that God isn’t real, it’s the chance for God to show you just how real He is

Pain was PROMISED

John 16:33 NIV // “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

We weren’t promised a PAIN-FREE life, but a grace-filled life!

Faith is REQUIRED

Hebrews 11:6 NIV // And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

If we only believed because life is always good, that’s not faith, that’s sight

2 Corinthians 5:7 // “For we live by faith, not by sight.”

God’s character is that He’s SOVEREIGN and He’s GOOD

Romans 8:28 NIV // “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

Do you believe God is FOR you?

Isaiah 55:9 NIV // “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

I don’t always have to UNDERSTAND God, but I always have to TRUST God.

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The greatest lessons in life are almost always taught in the classroom of suffering

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NIV) // To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. {8} Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. {9} But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. {10} That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Where does pain come from?

2 Corinthians 12:7 (NIV)  //  …there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

John 10:10 (NIV)  //  “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Where is the target?

2 Corinthians 12: 9 (NIV)  //  [The Lord} said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Our weakness

Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)  //  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Our pride

2 Corinthians 12:7 (NIV)  //  To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

James 4:6 (ESV)  //  “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

1 John 1:9 (NIV)  //  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16 (NIV)  //   Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

Pain Happens

2 Corinthians 11:24-29 (NIV)  //  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. {25} Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, {26} I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. {27} I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. {28} Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. {29} Who is weak, and I do not feel weak?

The Purpose Of Pain

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NIV)  //  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. {9} But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. {10} That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

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