You cannot FOLLOW Jesus by yourself.

Because so much of what Jesus commanded REQUIRES somebody else.

“In your RELATIONSHIPS with one another, have the same MINDSET as KING Jesus” - Philippians 2:5

Someone always has to GIVE life, in order for their to BE life in a relationship, right?

What did Jesus do to give YOU life?

Although there are MANY different ways that we handle and EXPRESS conflict within our relationships, there’s really only ONE SOURCE.

James 4:1-3 (pg. 1,884)

v.1: “WHAT causes FIGHTS and QUARRELS among you? Don’t they come from your DESIRES that battle WITHIN you?”

There is a desire WITHIN you that is creating conflict with the people AROUND you.

v.2: “You WANT something but you don’t GET it.

You KILL, you COVET, but you cannot have what you want so you QUARREL and FIGHT.”

The way to begin BRINGING LIFE into a relationship that is dying of quarreling and fighting starts when we CONFESS:

v.2: “You do not have because you do not ASK God.”

Your WANTS are IMPORTANT to your Heavenly Father, because YOU are IMPORTANT to your Heavenly Father.

v.3: “When you ask, you do not receive because YOUR ASK IS BAD.”

“Let us then approach GOD’S throne of grace with CONFIDENCE, so that we may RECEIVE MERCY and find GRACE to help us in our time of NEED.” -Hebrews 4:16

Luke 15:11-32

He came to his SENSES.

Four Patterns of False Identity:

Jesus listeners would have though of a KEZAZAH ceremony.

“You are now CUT OFF from your people.” - alongside a smashed clay pot.

Broken. Irredeemable. No longer useful. No longer one of us.

OSTRACIZED

The Father RUNS out before anyone can smash the clay pot.

The older son brings shame by refusing to JOIN the party.

The father moves towards BOTH of his sons.

BOTH sons forgot who they were. And the father responds, “My SON.”

The younger son: He came to HIMSELF.

Sometimes being far from home is less OBVIOUS.

Luke 15:25-32

“Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.” (v. 29)

The younger son was no longer SHACKLED to his past regrets or his unknown future; he became like a child.

But the older son was shackled to his past resentment and unknown future; he was acting CHILDISH.

As soon as the younger son comes back home, we realize the older son is FAR from home.

Romans 12:2

Jesus encourages us to be transformed from the INSIDE-OUT.

Jesus isn’t avoiding the places of your pain, he comes NEAR.

“The great tragedy for many of us is that in growing up, we become self-made, independent successes who are weighed down with thoughts of the past and worries about the future. We lose touch with our true self, the person God created us to be. We live off-center and alienated from who we really are.” - Albert Hasse

You are STUCK in the past

You are TRAPPED in the future.

The problem: You MISS the present.

Luke 15:11-24

He came to his SENSES.

He came to HIMSELF.

The Empty Ps of the False Self

You may not feel WORTHY, but your feelings of worth don’t determine what the Father SAYS.

God’s always SEEN it in you.

What if simply BELIEVING was enough to make a difference in life?

Doing is what makes all the DIFFERENCE in life.

If we believe all the right things, but don’t do anything with what we believe, our FAITH becomes FEEBLE and FRAIL and FRAGILE.

Jesus’ Invitation: FOLLOW Me, not BELIEVE Me.

God is most HONORED by our LIVING, active, in-spite-of FAITH.

Over the course of a lifetime, what are the key INGREDIENTS of ENDURING faith?

SPIRITUAL Disciplines

The Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5-7 (pg. 1,501-1,506); Luke 6:17-49 (pg. 1,601-1,602)

Your Heavenly Father is saying: You won’t ever EXPERIENCE Me, until you TRUST Me.

v.24: “Therefore, everyone who HEARS these words of mine and puts them into PRACTICE is like a WISE person who built their HOUSE on the ROCK.”

v.25: “The rain came down, the stream rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; and yet it DID NOT FALL because it had it’s foundation on the ROCK.

v.26: “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does NOT put them into PRACTICE is like a FOOLISH person who built their house on sand.”

Just BELIEVING, can be DECEIVING.

Groups are where we practice our DOING.

Relationships grow from shared VALUES.

You can BELIEVE in Jesus all by yourself.

You can’t FOLLOW Jesus, all by yourself.

There are so many things that I WISH for you.

Number 1: That GOD would create in you, ENDURING faith.

God is the one who CREATES faith.

There are a number of KEY INGREDIENTS that God USES to develop big, active, enduring faith in people.

Matthew 8:5-10 (pg. 1,507)

v.5: “...a CENTURION came to Jesus, asking Him for help. Lord, he said, my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

v.8: “just SAY the word, and my servant will be healed.”

v.10: “When Jesus heard this, He was AMAZED.”

Mark 6:2-6 (pg. 1,560)

v.3: “Isn’t this the CARPENTER? Isn’t this Mary’s son?”

v.6: “Jesus was AMAZED at their LACK of faith.”

Jesus was amazed by GREAT faith and Jesus was amazed by a LACK of faith.

People who have great faith:

Their faith informs all of their ACTIONS.

Their faith informs all of their REACTIONS.

Big faith is ACTIVE faith, and active faith is what makes a DIFFERENCE in the world.

There are some very specific THINGS God USES to help people develop a growing, maturing and ENDURING faith.

PRACTICAL Biblical teaching.

PERSONAL Ministry

SPIRITUAL Disciplines

PROVIDENTIAL Relationships

DEFINING Moments

Following Jesus intersects ALL of life...But it’s not always obvious, HOW.

If we can find God IN it, we are far more likely to maintain faith THROUGH.

Jonah was POWERLESS to save.

Jesus is POWERFUL to save.

God SAVED you before you ever ASKED Him.

Even God's punishments are MERCIES if they lead you to REPENTANCE.

God gives His GRACE to EVERYONE.

If it’s not GOOD, God’s NOT DONE.

Should God have compassion on ALL people?

Verses Referenced: Matthew 28:19-20; Jonah 1:1-2; Ezekiel 33:11; Jonah 1:4; Matthew 8:23-27; Jonah 1:17; Ephesians 1:4; Jonah 2:10; Romans 9:14-16; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Jonah 3:1-2; Jonah 3:4; Matthew 13:1-3; Jonah 3:10; Romans 5:6-10; Jonah 4:4; Romans 8:26, 28; John 5:17; Jonah 4:6-11; Matthew 9:36-38

Is Jonah FACT or FICTION?

Jonah confesses the FAITH but not his SIN.

God wants Jonah to LIVE and to PREACH.

Jonah’s TROUBLE is also his TREATMENT.

Jonah RUNS from God but still PRAYS to Him.

Even with this second chance, Jonah allows EVIL to grow within him.

God wants Jonah to REPENT, but the prodigal prophet REFUSES.

Allow your PAST to help you decide how you want to live in the PRESENT.

Verses Referenced: Matthew 12:41; Jonah 1:8-9; Luke 18:9-14; Jonah 1:10; Jonah 1:17; Jonah 2; Psalm 88; Psalm 55:17; Romans 6:3-5; Jonah 4:2-4; Romans 7:15-19, 24-25; Jonah 4:6-9; 1 Peter 5:6-10; James 4:7; Philippians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Ezekiel 36:27; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Matthew 5:14-16

How does God TRANSFORM HATE into LOVE? For others For ourselves For God

Jonah (pg. 1436)

God SENDS Jonah as a PROPHET for the NON-BELIEVERS.

Obedience and disobedience have PRESENT and ETERNAL consequences.

Jonah would rather DIE than SHARE GOD’S WORD.

God uses Jonah’s FAITHLESSNESS to convert the sailors to FAITHFULNESS.

Jonah is the ONLY prophet in the Bible who has to be called TWICE.

Jonah’s sermon is 5 Hebrew words. There’s no call to REPENT. There’s no GOOD NEWS.

In response to God’s Word, the Israelite RAN AWAY, but the Gentiles REPENT.

What was UNCERTAIN to the Ninevites is A CERTAIN PROMISE for us.

Jonah wants to DESTROY his enemies. God wants to SAVE His enemies.

Jesus DIED to SAVE every PERSON you see.

Verses Referenced: Genesis 12:1-3; Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Luke 10:25-30; Matthew 5:43-48; Acts 10; Joel 2:28-32

What TV series has the most UNSATISFYING ending?

Nehemiah’s story show’s us the power of VISION.

Vision: A PICTURE of what you hope the FUTURE will be like.

When we allow OUR HEARTS to be BROKEN by the thing that BREAK the HEART of GOD.

Whatever it takes to get God’s vision in your life started;

MOMENTUM by itself is NEVER ENOUGH to keep that vision alive.

What we don’t PROTECT, we will eventually LOSE.

Nehemiah 10:30-39 (pg. 767)

v.30: “We promise not to give our daughters in MARRIAGE to the peoples around us, or take their daughters for our sons.”

This is about RELATIONAL compromise.

v.31: “When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise…we will not buy or sell from them on the SABBATH.”

This is about SPIRITUAL compromise.

v.32: “We assume the responsibility for CARING for…the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the musicians…and we will not NEGLECT the house of our God.”

This is about HONORING God with our WEALTH.

“So, I purified the priests and the Levities of everything foreign… Remember ME with FAVOR my God” - Nehemiah 13:30

The question the Old Testament ends with: How is God going to produce a generation of PEOPLE with HIS kind of heart?

“And so God condemned SIN, in the flesh, in order that the righteous REQUIREMENTS of the LAW might be fully met in US, who do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” - Romans 8:3-4