Lessons for Living (Audio)

You get along perfectly with everyone in your church, don’t you? Yeah, right. Human beings that live in close proximity to one another tend to grind each other’s gears on occasion. It’s just the way it is, it seems. The question, though, is what are you going to do about this friction? You might want to let things slide but the Bible doesn’t offer you that way out. Pastor Mark is teaching about your responsibility as a follower of Christ to be at peace with everyone to the best of your ability. You need to do this – with God’s help – because your primary role on earth is to make God look good, not you.

In the Bible verses Pastor Mark is teaching from, the apostle Paul took the extraordinary step of publicly calling out two women, urging them to settle their personal spat. The reason Paul did that was because their disagreement was poison to the local fellowship and a terrible witness to the world around them. Are you at odds with anyone in your church? If so, you should learn from this passage and do what you can to make things right. In the end it’s not about you. You are here to do the will of God and to build up His body; it’s time to put the hurt aside and get things right with the other person and with God.

Are there people in your church that annoy you? Maybe they have idiosyncrasies that just drive you nuts. You find yourself wishing they’d just get their act together and behave more like you do – then they’d be better people for it. Well, I have bad news for you; we’re all different, but God wants us to work together for the sake of Christ. Pastor Mark is teaching about two women who for some reason weren’t getting along and were disrupting the local fellowship. The apostle Paul told them to get their eyes off of themselves and on to Christ, and to settle their differences.

Have you ever been part of a church split? They aren’t at all pleasant to experience. They generally can be traced to a disagreement that, if remedied at the beginning, wouldn’t have spread throughout the church. In the passage Pastor Mark is teaching from, the apostle Paul is nipping a potential situation in the bud. By being forthright he helps to undo a rift that Satan would have loved to use to possibly divide the Philippian church. If you’re in a similar situation, don’t be a tool of the devil; make things right and work to be a unifier in your church and not a divider.

Wow – Steve Jobs. A man who, by all appearances, had it all together. More money than all but a few people in the world, freedom to do virtually whatever he wanted. And yet, he died. Just like you’re going to die one day if the Lord tarries longer. Just like all of your unsaved family and friends. Pastor Mark wants to emphasize the importance of reaching out to those around you with the message of forgiveness and new life in Christ. You’re not responsible for saving them; that’s Jesus’ job. Your job is simply to tell people about Jesus and then let the Holy Spirit do His work on them.

Do you think about the fate of the lost? Do you think about what the Bible says about what hell is and will be for those apart from Christ? Sure, this is an unpleasant topic but it’s one that Jesus spoke on more than He spoke about heaven. Pastor Mark will be teaching about your need to understand what the scriptures tell you your responsibilities as a Christ follower are. These include following the Great Commission, which requires you to tell other people about Jesus. As uncomfortable as that may be, if you trust God He will give you a love for the lost as well as the words to say to them.

Do you have a retirement account? A place where you’re banking money for when you stop working for a living? If so, I’m sure you watch it closely to be sure that you’re maximizing your returns. This concept of investing is what Jesus will be talking about in Pastor Mark’s teaching. He will speak about the task Jesus left us to do here, which is to tell others about Him and bring them into His kingdom. You’ve been given talents, physical and monetary resources, and time. You’re expected to use all of those to move God’s kingdom forward. Pastor Mark will be teaching you how to do that.

There are a lot of people who are convinced that they’re right with God. They do “good” things, or they went forward at a crusade or in a church service. In fact, they attend church every week! And at the end, Jesus will say, “I never knew you – get out of my sight.” Pastor Mark is teaching about Jesus’ promised second return and telling us who it is Jesus will take to heaven with Himself. He’s reminding us that we have to have the Jesus-following lifestyle, living by the power of the Holy Spirit. Anything short of that is just not good enough and will doom us to hell with Satan and the demons.

Lots of books and movies have been created concerning what Christians call “The Rapture of the Saints.” This event, and the subsequent time of tribulation on the earth, are somewhat shrouded in mystery. When will these things happen? Jesus said that not even He knew when – only the Father knew. Pastor Mark is teaching that because we can trust the Bible in these regards, we need to be prepared for these happenings. We need to be sure that we are in a right relationship with God and if we care about others we should be warning them to settle up with God, too.

The unsaved world believes that this world is going to continue on and on forever, if they think about that kind of thing at all. We who understand the fallen nature and subsequent rebellion of mankind against God’s rule know that all of this is going to be brought to an end by God Himself. Prior to that end, though, God is going to rain down judgment on the earth for man’s revolt. Pastor Mark is teaching about the events of the last days, urging us to take what scripture says about this seriously. As we embrace what God says is going to happen this should spur us to warn those around us.