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Daniel Rogers brings a message from Philippians 4 where we find some familiar verses about thanksgiving but considering the context of the passage, Daniel approaches this with a little bit of a different perspective.
Who knew the story of Jacob and Esau was so similar to the parable of the lost son that Jesus would tell thousands of years later? We are Jacob and we often approach God like he approached Esau all those years after he ran for his life. All God wants is to wrap us in His arms, kiss us, walk arm and arm back home in a renewed relationship. It's no scheme that we come up with that convinces Him to welcome us back...God's already decided He wants us home.
After the promised land was conquered and it was time for each tribe to settle its own territory Joshua instructed Israel to decide what God they would serve. Israel chose the Lord because of all He had done in their lives. But one generation later a people grew up who abandoned God and served the gods of the people whose land they occupied. How is it possible for a generation of people whose parents dedicated themselves to serving the Lord, to not "know" the Lord or what He had done for their fathers? Each generation must experience God moving for themselves otherwise they see no reason to have a relationship with Him. Those of us who know God and have seen Him working in our lives have the opportunity to help our kids and the next generation see what God is doing in their lives. It is our opportunity and our responsibility.
From Hebrews 3 & 4 we understand that there is rest for the people of God, in fact we were created to live in this rest. When we dig into the OT references that the author uses we can find that this rest is only "accessible" by trusting God to provide everything that we need. It's a simple idea, but many of us miss the point.
Sometimes within the church we forget where the power comes from and we lift up and put our confidence in leaders or personalities. The trouble is, these people are just people and at some point they will do something to remind us they are human. When that happens the result is often disillusionment and disappointment.
Leaders, we cannot allow ourselves to be "worshipped" in a way that lets people see us as the ultimate power and authority. It's not healthy for us, and it hurts the church.
Fed up? Exhausted? Burnt out? Ready to walk away because of religion? Jesus got there too (not the walking away part). Jesus is the solution to religion, not the problem. If you are tired and ready to walk away because you think religion is all there is, I pray this message gives you hope.
Jesus tells a parable about the Kingdom of God comparing it to a mustard seed. The point of the parable, though, is not about the size of the seed it is about the way it grows. The kingdom of God is unstoppable and invasive both in the world around us and in your individual life. The kingdom is growing in you and around you..how? I don't know, but I see the evidence...
When we read scripture we do it from a particular frame of mind. At times the understanding we bring to the Word can lead us to perspectives that may not be reality. Jeremy West tackles this idea by looking at a scripture from James chapter two..."faith without works is dead."
When we put what we have in God's hands and allow Him to work, what we have is always more than enough. What do you have?
As born again believers our Frame of Mind should be an eternal perspective- that we are in an eternal relationship right now with our Heavenly Father. The book of Hebrews reminds us to "run with endurance". We are in it for the long haul, but it's not a race where we have to strain to find the finish line and earn our gold medal...it's a victory lap or a fun run that has already been decided by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Now we can relax in Him, bask in the goodness of His victory, and walk in our new identity.
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