1Imagine a basketball team with only three players...it's not likely they'll

2win very many games, right? Well, this Christian life that we live is no

3different. It takes a full team of gifts people to accomplish the will of God.

4Calvary Chapel Melbourne is a great example of this. Since it's such a

5large church, there's a need for all kinds of different people with different

6gifts and talents so that God's will can be accomplished. And as we just

7heard from Pastor Mark, it's not about a single person, it's about a

8collective effort, a team. So, you might not be a Billy Graham or a Mark

9Balmer...but, God desires to use you right where you're at. The question

10is, are you willing?

1We read in the Scriptures that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the

2Word of God. In today's study, Pastor Mark teaches us that faith is

3required to receive God's blessings. Without faith...without obedience to

4His Word, we are missing out on all that the Father has to offer! We also

5learned today that it is important that when we hear from the Lord that

6we do not quickly dismiss it. You see, if we continually reject the voice

7of the Lord, our hearts will become hard. This is a dangerous position to

8be in...considering that the outcome would be a life without God. So

9when we are confronted with the Truth, it is important to heed the voice

10of the Lord and walk in it. For we know that freedom and rest only come from obeying the Truth.

1As believers we understand that the Bible is Truth. That we are not to

2add to or subtract from God's Word. Unfortunately, man has taken it

3upon himself to pick and choose what to believe from the Scriptures and

4how those verses are to be applied. And just as the Pharisees took the

5perfect law of God and added to it, we can also be guilty of the same. Its

6important to ALWAYS look at the Scriptures and ask the question: “What

7does GOD have to say about this?”. If we are not careful, then we will

8begin down the burdensome road of man-made religion. Pastor Mark

9explains to us that we can go to Jesus and He will take our burdens and

10give us rest! And with proper understanding and application of Biblical truths...there is freedom.

1Every single person is submitted to something or someone...whether

2they realize it or not. What it all boils down to is this question: Are we

3yoked with God or with the enemy, Satan. Jesus tells us to take on HIS

4yoke and learn from Him. There will we will find the peace that can only

5come from God. Pastor Mark explains to us that no other person, place,

6thing or organization can offer us what our Heavenly Father can. We can

7try to live life on our own, by our own rules and regulations – which only

8leads to exhaustion and a burdened spirit. OR we can choose to live by

9the Ways of the Lord. When we choose to be yoked with God, then we

10are entering an apprenticeship...we are committing to being HIS disciple.

1The Scriptures teach us that pride comes before the fall. You see, our

2pride can (and will) hold us back. In fact, one of the biggest reasons that

3people do not accept the salvation of the Lord is because of pride! We

4aren't comfortable admitting that we are sinners and that we CAN'T make

5it through this life alone. But, it's necessary nonetheless. We need to

6become humbled. We read on into Matthew where we are given the

7invitation from Jesus, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,

8and I will give you rest.” As you can see, Jesus WANTS to receive us...

9He wants to forgive us and He wants to give us HIS peace. So take the

10invitation given by the Lord. He wants to take your burdens and set you free.

1Are you a negative person? Well, while its a good thing to be realistic,

2we as believers, should ultimately have the peace of God. That no matter

3what we are going through, we KNOW that HE is in control. There's no

4room for worry and negativity! Today, Pastor Mark encourages us to

5stop living life with a negative perspective, but to look to God's Word for

6hope. We also learn that as Christians, it is our responsibility to share

7with others the Good News of salvation through Jesus. Its not a simple

8suggestion, but rather a command. If we truly love those around us, then

9we will WANT to tell them about the hope they can have in the Lord!

10Because we know what the Bible teaches: That unless we repent, we will perish.

1The Scriptures teach us that pride comes before the fall. You see, our

2pride can (and will) hold us back. In fact, one of the biggest reasons that

3people do not accept the salvation of the Lord is because of pride! We

4aren't comfortable admitting that we are sinners and that we CAN'T make

5it through this life alone. But, it's necessary nonetheless. We need to

6become humbled. We read on into Matthew where we are given the

7invitation from Jesus, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,

8and I will give you rest.” As you can see, Jesus WANTS to receive us...

9He wants to forgive us and He wants to give us HIS peace. So take the

10invitation given by the Lord. He wants to take your burdens and set you free.

1Are you a negative person? Well, while its a good thing to be realistic,

2we as believers, should ultimately have the peace of God. That no matter

3what we are going through, we KNOW that HE is in control. There's no

4room for worry and negativity! Today, Pastor Mark encourages us to

5stop living life with a negative perspective, but to look to God's Word for

6hope. We also learn that as Christians, it is our responsibility to share

7with others the Good News of salvation through Jesus. Its not a simple

8suggestion, but rather a command. If we truly love those around us, then

9we will WANT to tell them about the hope they can have in the Lord!

10Because we know what the Bible teaches: That unless we repent, we will perish.

1The Scriptures teach us that we war not against flesh and blood, but

2against powers, principles and rulers of darkness. So from this very

3passage, we can gather that we are in a battle...a battle for souls. If you

4were sold into the Christian mindset thinking that once you've said your

5prayer that life would be peachy, then you've been lied to. We were

6never promised a rosy life in the Lord. In fact, we are told that we WILL

7experience persecution – if we proclaim the Truth of God's Word. Now,

8don't be discouraged, believer! Even though we know there will be trials,

9we can rest in one simple truth: That by prayer, a bold faith, and FULL

10reliance on the Spirit, we can have victory. For greater is HE who is in us than he who is in the world.

1In today's teaching, we learn all about expectations. Some of the

2expectations we have are ideas created in our own mind that might not

3necessarily from the Lord. In fact, Pastor Mark shows us that we are to

4trust God to do the right thing and expect that HIS overall plans will

5exceed any expectations we might set. It all boils down to having faith in

6knowing that God knows whats best for you. We must believe that what

7the book of Romans tells us is true, “that all things work together for the

8good of those who love God and have been called according to HIS

9purpose. So instead of setting expectations based on our own human

10understanding, why don't we study God's Word and trust that He will bless us beyond measure if we simply obey.