Lessons for Living (Audio)

Everybody has regrets. It doesn’t matter who you are; if you are over the age of ten, you have things in your life you wish you hadn’t done. That’s what makes this concept of “forgetting my past” so hard to understand. Pastor Mark is teaching that the Bible uses the term “forget” in a much different way than we’re used to using it. The Bible term “forget” means that those painful memories that have paralyzed us no longer have to have the power to inflict that pain on us. We will learn how to forget in the biblical sense so that we can be the people God intends us to be.

Did you ever think that you had a calling from God? Did you think that only missionaries or pastors were called by God? Well, Pastor Mark will be teaching that every Christ follower has a calling. Actually, we may have two callings: our initial call to follow Jesus, and then the calling to fit into the part of the body of Christ where we belong. We will learn that as in the life of the Apostle Paul both of these callings are lifelong pursuits. We will get frustrated as we fall short on occasion but just like Paul did, we need to look at these quests as marathons rather than as sprints.

Jesus said that His disciples would do the same things He did while on the earth and more, because the Holy Spirit would come and live in every Christ follower, not just in Him. The reason for that indwelling was so that we would be able to be instructed by God as far as how to live and spread His gospel. Pastor Mark is teaching about the necessity of having the Spirit being active in us. It’s impossible to live the life God intends us to live without being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. It’s critical that we seek Him out and ask Him to live through us to touch the lives of those around us.

Why are we Christ followers? What is our motivation for having chosen to become disciples of Jesus? Recognizing our need for redemption and salvation, to be sure. But is there anything more than that, now that we’ve experienced life walking with Jesus? Pastor Mark is teaching that there should be. Using the life of the Apostle Paul as an example, we’re being told that we should be modeling our lives after Jesus. His main goal was

to seek and save those who were lost. That should be our motivation. We should be living in such a way that people see and hear Christ in our lives.

We all know that we aren’t as good as we should be. Our consciences tell us when we fail. And so, we try to figure out a way to please whatever higher being we think we need to please. We do good deeds, pursue philanthropic endeavors and whatever else we think will do the job – all to no avail. Pastor Mark tells us of the Apostle Paul’s attempt to do the same thing and how he found the true way to become right with God. It was by realizing that there was nothing he could do on his own; by acknowledging and receiving what Christ had done, he, Paul, was made right before God.

Lots of people go to church. Millions, maybe billions, do. Unfortunately, not everyone who attends church is actually a member of the body of Christ. Jesus Himself warned that pleasing God outwardly comes as a result of the inner change God has made in our lives. Pastor Mark is reminding us that there is no activity that we can perform that will move our spiritual ledger from the negative to the positive – only the sacrifice Jesus made for us can do that. The works that we then perform are a form of worship to God in appreciation of all He has done for and given to us.

Mankind wants so badly to be a partner in our redemption. We make up rules about what god is like and what he or she expects. Many times the god we create is frighteningly similar to what we believe the ultimate man is like. And every attempt falls short. We have this nagging sense that there’s something more we’re missing. Pastor Mark is teaching that we’re correct in this sense. There is something more, and His name is Jesus. He did what we couldn’t do – live life perfectly, without flaw – and then offered His perfect life to pay the penalty for all of our shortcomings.

There are possibly millions of people who faithfully attend church services, who help out when asked and who give generously, who will end up in hell. The reason for this is that they did the works but didn’t know the Savior who is the real reason for doing the deeds. Jesus Himself warned His listeners of this possibility. Pastor Mark is teaching on the importance of having a relationship with Jesus rather than looking for justification through religious activities. We need to be sure that our relationship with Jesus is solid and if it isn’t, to work at making it stronger.

All of us have been hurt at one time or another. Betrayed by best friends, let down by family members in our time of need. Conversely, the best thing to have is a true friend. Someone who will go beyond what we ask of them and not ask for anything in return. Pastor Mark is going over the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians while also telling us about the friends that are helping Paul out. As much as we like to believe we can do this life alone on our own terms, the reality is that God created us to be with one another and our lives won’t be complete until we embrace that fact.

A famous, now retired pro football player was known for saying, “I love me some me”. The Bible tells us that because of sin, we all mimic that saying in one way or another. As Christ followers, however, we are to imitate Jesus. He was the epitome of selflessness. Pastor Mark is teaching about God’s having chosen to use us as His ambassadors to declare His love to the world, and our obstacles to successfully fulfilling that role. We’ve simply got to let go of our fears and insecurities and allow God’s Spirit to flow through us and touch those around us for His glory.