Lessons for Living (Audio)

Life is hard. It’s hard for everybody. No matter the social or economic status, we all have things in our lives that test us severely. It is much easier to handle the stresses of life with someone else around to help share the load. Pastor Mark is teaching from the Bible, which has many passages in which the sharing of the loads of life are commended. We need to let our guard down and trust someone to come alongside us and keep us moving forward. And even though we might feel we’re not adequate, we need to come alongside and help share someone else’s burden.

Are you familiar with the concept of an apprenticeship? An apprentice is someone who wants to learn a trade and who learns from one who is engaged in that trade. They learn the ins and outs of the trade with the goal of becoming a master of that trade. Pastor Mark is teaching that the life of a Christ follower is much the same. We need to seek out those who are ahead of us in spiritual maturity, observe their lives and thus learn how to apply those spiritual principles to our own lives. This has been the pattern for spiritual growth since the founding of the church by Jesus.

The original eleven disciples were, for the most part, uneducated men. The reason they were able to “turn the world upside down” was that they had been with Jesus. They had an intimate relationship with Him and they did what He’d told them to do. Like Pastor Mark is teaching, they weren’t perfect – no one is. But what they were was obedient to God and trusting that He would give them the power and courage to do what He had told them to do. Although it’s hard to view them this way, they were just like we are. If we’re willing to follow their example and be close to Jesus, we can be used by God just like they were.

Christmastime is a difficult time of year for many people. There are more people dealing with depression and thoughts of suicide than at any other time of the year. Much of this is because people struggle with finding their reason for being here and their self-worth. Maybe you’ve had these kinds of issues at this time of year. Pastor Mark is teaching about the empty place that everyone, including you, has and tries to fill with anything. He will be speaking about the only true solution to your dilemma which is by having a relationship with the One Who came to save us all, Jesus.

At Christmastime the focus tends to be on the birth of Jesus with a cursory mention of the reason He was born in the first place. What gets lost in all of this is the motivation for His coming and being born as a human baby. Through Pastor Mark’s teaching he will be telling you that it was the incalculable love of the Godhead that motivated God the Father to give His Son Jesus to show us the way back to a personal relationship with Him. Jesus humbled Himself, grew up in the same way we have to so that He could grow up understanding what our lives are like and then gave Himself to redeem us.

When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant, he was going to do what many would’ve considered the right thing – break off the engagement but not make a fuss about it. Seems reasonable, right? But that’s not what God had in mind, and God let Joseph know that. It’s the same for you – making decisions without God’s input will cause you to miss God’s best for you. Pastor Mark, in his teaching, will be reminding you of that fact. You need to get plugged into what God has planned for your life so that you’ll have the best fulfillment and achieve your best life possible.

In America, whether we say it this way or not, we tend to emphasize individualism over the group. Many in the church do this as well – “Me and Jesus” is the statement you might hear. The problem with that declaration, as Pastor Mark is teaching, is that the Bible explicitly says that we are part of an organism – the Body of Christ. Being a “Lone Ranger” Christian has been the downfall of many who no longer follow Christ. By isolating themselves they become easy targets for Satan. Without support, encouragement and constructive criticism it’s all too easy to be derailed in our walk with Jesus.

When you think of Christian maturity, what comes to mind? An aged pastor, maybe like Billy Graham? Or perhaps a saintly old relative? Or one of the standouts of the Bible, like Moses or the apostle Paul? Certainly our achieving the status of one of those seems unobtainable, doesn’t it? Yet Pastor Mark is teaching that the scriptures communicate that each of us is expected to attain an increased level of spiritual maturity than we began with. He’ll be telling us how we are to deepen our walk with Jesus, and it involves our finding a spiritual role model, one to pattern our lives after.

One of the hard things for people to grasp is that God’s primary concern is why we do things, not what. Jesus warned of those who did things in His name but He said He never knew them. The challenge for us is to pursue God first – to ask Him what we should be doing – and then do that thing, whatever it is, to the best of our ability. Pastor Mark is teaching the importance of serving God for His glory, not to credit our account, as it were. Once we understand and embrace the idea that we can’t do anything to make us more saved, that takes the pressure off of us and allows us to just serve God and others.

It seems that maybe we Christ followers aren’t as informed about what responsibilities we have as we should be. The apostle Paul was adamant about what not only we would receive from God as saved ones but also about what our responsibilities were now that we had been saved. It’s not often that we hear about the judgment that all Christians will have at the end of the age. Pastor Mark is teaching about what God expects those who claim to follow Jesus to do and how to live, and the need to constantly evaluate ourselves. We don’t want to find ourselves on the outside of heaven, looking in.