Longview Heights Sermons

Outline:

●Realize the destruction of sin

○ Sin is personal

○ Sin is subtle

○ Sin is costly

○ Sin is completely pervasive

○ Sin is separation

● Remember the provision of God

○ The penalty is costly

○ The forgiveness is free

● Respond in brokenness to God

○ My heart need to be re-created

○ My joy needs to be revived

○ My satisfaction needs to be restored

● Rejoice in your proclamation of God

○ Proclaim for the sake of unbelievers

○ Proclaim for the sake of believers

How should we as Christians seek to "live differently in these troubling times"?

As citizens of the Kingdom of God we live in conflict as resident aliens in the kingdom of this world. We see an example of this conflict as we look at Daniel 3 and the choice made by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to openly disobey the order of King Nebuchadnezzar. It is a remarkable account of steadfast faith.

Big Picture: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego decided it was better to stand up for God than to bow down to the wishes of the crowd. Their conviction was to refuse to be "conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2)

Outline:

1. They Would Not Bow

2. They Would Not Bend

"We are to walk by faith, not just talk by faith."

3. They Would Not Burn

A. Punished (vs 19-23)

B. Preserved (vs 24-27)

C. Promoted (vs 28-30)

What do we learn?

- Standing up for God is always better than bowing down to man, but it's much harder

- God is sovereign whether the outcome is triumph or tragedy

- Suffering is a critical key to freedom

DOUBLE DARE:

Courageously Stand Up Even When the World Shouts to Sit Down

Outline:

1. God sets the standard (Genesis 49:8-12)

2. The standard is inward instead of outward

3. The true standard is the King of Kings (2 Samuel 7:16)

The Double Dare series is geared to challenge us to "Live differently in these troubling times."

In part 2 we will look at what it means to "Be Bold" in our faith.

We have a tendency to trust people more readily than we are willing to trust the LORD. We live by faith in other people.

In Daniel 2 we see three scenes:

Scene 1: The King's Bedroom (v. 1)

- Nebuchadnezzar is troubled by disturbing dreams.

Scene 2: The King's Courtroom (Vv. 2-13)

- Nebuchadnezzar calls in all of his magicians, mediums, sorcerers, and Chaldeans (influential Babylonian wise men) demanding they interpret his dreams.

- His faith in all of his pantheon of deities is rattled because his seers can't interpret his dreams.

- The fraud of the Chaldeans is revealed. They can't do what they're "supposed" to be there for.

- This rallies the fervor of the captives (Daniel and his friends). The king's dreams, his disturbance, the failure of the seers to interpret the dreams, were all a setup so that God could use Daniel to show them: No, there are not many gods. No, it's not like you can pick your beliefs and all roads lead to God. Daniel is going to show them: There is only ONE GOD and that God - THE GOD - has revealed these things to Daniel and he is there to reveal them to King Nebuchadnezzar.

Scene 3: Daniel's Prayer Room (Vv.14-23)

- Daniel and his friends don't just sit back and observe. They actively get involved.

- Daniel doesn't panic at the threat of death.

- There is a stark contrast between the response of the king and the captives (Daniel and Co.). The king is sleepless, disturbed, concerned. The captives are serene, calm, and trusting in the Lord.

- There's a great short poem by Elizabeth Chaney, called the Robin and Sparrow.

“The Robin and the Sparrow"

Said the robin to the sparrow,

“I should really like to know,

Why these anxious human beings

Rush about and worry so.”

Said the sparrow to the robin,

“Friend I think that it must be,

That they have no Heavenly Father,

Such as cares for you and me.”

- They put their faith on the line (v. 16)

- Daniel activate his faith in God, because he had already abandoned his life to God.

- They put their faith in the Lord (v. 17)

Prayer is their first resort, not their last resort.

Your prayer life is directly proportional to three things:

1. Your perception of prayer:

James 5:16 says, "The fervent," that means red hot, "The fervent, effectual prayer of a righteous man avails much," or gets the job done. So your prayer life is directly proportional to your view, your perception of prayer.

2. Your perception of God (Vv. 21-22)

Daniel and his friends prayers according to what they knew of God

a. God is in total control

b. He is interested in guiding people

c. He is in tune with everything.

3. Your perception of the problem

DOUBLE DARE:

Be aware and take advantage of the daily opportunities to display your faith in the way you respond to people's questions, opinions, and difficulties.

It will wake intentionality and it will take boldness.

Here's the secret: When you bow before God, you can stand before men.

Where is God calling you to BE BOLD? School, work, a relationship, a neighbor?

Be sure that you're bowing before Him; that you're on your knees before Him. From the strength you gain on your knees, like Daniel and his buddies, you step up to the crisis and then step out in complete trust in God.

The dare: Be bold. Put your faith on the line. Place your faith in the Lord. Step up and talk to men about God, and talk to God about men!

If you could ask for a king, what would he look like?

As we look at 1 Samuel 8 we will see two main truths:

1. We don't need a king after our own desires. We need our heart to desire after the right king.

2. A king after our own heart will never provide the satisfaction, joy, and peace that our hearts long for

Outline:

- Refuse to be captivated in your own desires

- Guard the desires for a king

- Realize that in Jesus, God has provided us with the King we need

Series: In Search of a King

Part 1: "Will God Be Our King?"

Text: 1 Samuel 7:1-14

I. Turn Away from a Divided, Idolatrous Heart (Vv. 3-6)

II. Seek the Lord in Prayer (Vv. 8-11)

III. Remember God’s Faithful Dealings with You (Vv. 12-14)

We are constantly faced with pressure to conform to worldly standards. But as Christians we have a purpose inside of us that helps us to face those outside pressures and to live differently.

Join us as we begin this new series in the book of Daniel, DOUBLE DARE: Living Differently in These Troubling Times

Part 1: "Be Different" - Daniel 1

Do we dare to be different? Here are four principles that were true for Daniel that are also true for us when it comes to being different.

1. Life happens unexpectedly (Vv. 1-2)

- On one hand man is active in history; on the other hand God is also active in history.

- Life may happen unexpectedly, but God is not surprised, and He is working supernaturally

2. Culture demands conformity (Vv. 3-7)

In these verses we see a four pronged approach as Nebuchadnezzar conforms the people of Israel to his will.

- Isolation: Isolate the people. Take them from their homeland to my land. They're away from their family. They're away from their peers. They're away from their priests. They're away from the reading of their law, their Scriptures, the worship of their God.

- Indoctrination: Make them forget everything they learned growing up and supplant with new ideas

- Concession: Make this experience so amazing that they wouldn't want to go back.

- Confusion: Give them new names. Take away the most personal, precious thing they have- their names, their identity. Change their identity.

3. Commitment begins with Conviction (Vv. 8-16)

- Commitment begins inwardly. Daniel made a choice deep within himself. There was a fork in the road and he made a choice to be different, to not go along with the crowd, to "not defile himself."

- What is defining you?

- What are your convictions?

- Where are you compromising?

4. God glorifies loyalty (Vv. 17-21)

- 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him.”

- 3 Ways God honored loyalty:

1.) Reverence (v.9) - Daniel was moved into a position where he found favor, even among his captor.

Proverbs 16, "When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."

2.) Prominence (v.20) - Top of the class. Valuable to the kingdom.

3.) Influence (v. 21) - Over a 70 year period Daniel had influence over four kings.

Challenge: Will you be a thermometer, or are you going to be a thermostat?

A thermometer just changes with the conditions around it. A thermostat influences change in the conditions around it. Daniel was a thermostat.

Double Dare:

In what areas do you experience the most pressure to conform to worldly standards? What will you do about it?

"I double dare you to be different!" ~ Whit Lewis

Due to some technical difficulties on the night this message was recorded only a portion of the video is available. The remainder of the message is audio only. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

In the conclusion of our LIFELINE series we look at how God is in the business of Restoration through Redemption in the Resurrected Christ.

The text for today's message is found in Revelation 1 & 5. John wrote the Revelation of Christ while exiled on the Isle of Patmos. From these passages we can note several things:

1. The Scene

2. The Savior

3. The Song

Link to fill-in notes: https://notes.subsplash.com/fill-in/view?page=5IbWPo7dyRe

As we move forward through our Grounded Reading Plan we come to Joshua 7. In the previous 6 chapters it seems that everything is going great. The people of Israel are at the brink of the promised land and Joshua has been installed as Moses' successor. However, when we get to chapter 7 everything changes. One man has hidden sin in his tent and it affects EVERYTHING! There are some certainties about sin that we can take to heart in Joshua 7:

- Sin harms us, people around us, and the church

- Sin forfeits the blessing of God's presence

The people of God were learning that they were destined to live defeated lives if they tried to live apart from the blessing of God's presence.

- Sin shames the glory of God's name

Our sin says a lot to a watching world. Our sin shows the world a cheapened view of the gospel, of a God who apparently has no power to actually change lives and who apparently is not worth our lives, a God who is not that great after all compared to the gods of this world. This is what a watching world assumes when we hold on to our sin. Our holiness before God has a direct effect on God's honor before the world.

- Sin will be revealed by God's judgment

When we see the punishment for Achan's sin we tend to think of it as severe--even unjust or not right, because we have a man-centered perspective of sin. The key to a proper perspective of sin is the ONE who is sinned against. God is infinitely holy and infinitely honorable. As a result, one sin against Him is an infinite offense, an infinite dishonor deserving infinite punishment.

- Sin can be erased by God's mercy

Jesus has taken the judgment you and I deserve. There is hope. Your sin can be erased! Yes, sin harms you and others and it forfeits the blessing of God's presence. Yes, it bings dishonor to the glory of God's name and will inevitably be revealed in God's judgment. But the beauty is that if you uncover hidden sin honestly before God (he knows about it already anyway), then your sin can ultimately be erased by the mercy of God.

This is only possible through Jesus! Jesus has made the way for us to experience the fullness of God's power, presence and blessing. You can experience that honesty before God today!

Want to talk with someone about your next steps? Reach out to us at [email protected] We would love to connect with you and walk with you as you seek God's next steps for your life.