* Paul had just spoken about our debt of love to all people.

* We “owe” people love, just like we’d “owe” them money if we borrowed it.

* Law determines the lowest you can go.

* Love determines the highest you can go.

* Vs 9 - notice the qualifier - “Love your neighbor AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF.”

* If you don’t love yourself you can’t properly love others.

* The foundation for love - intimacy.

* Intimacy - to be fully known and fully accepted.

* Loving ourself is about knowing and accepting ourself as God made us.

* We accept our identity, not our behavior.

* How can we love ourself without falling in love with ourself?

* How can we accept ourself without thinking of how exceptional we are?

* Vanity Smurf - he couldn’t love others cuz he was in love w/himself.

* Loving others isn’t about thinking of yourself. It’s about:

* Accepting yourself.

* Thinking of others - you think of how you can use your uniqueness to bless them.

* John 12:25 - “Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

* When you accept yourself and think of others you feel better about yourself. Why?

* Because you like the stuff that comes out of you - you actually enjoy the fruit that others eat.

* Like Tori making an ossum dinner - she lights up when others eat it.

* It works like this:

* I accept myself…

* I think about you…

* I like myself.

* If you want power in your life, you have to stay under authority.

* Power is the ability to do something.

* Authority is the right to use power.

* Authority is tied to responsibility.

* If you want authority (power) then stay in your place of responsibility.

* Ex: Adam - he lost his authority cuz he failed in his responsibility.

* Paul talked about freedom in Christ a LOT!

* But he also talked about the proper way to handle your freedom (in relationships).

* Vs 1-2 - four types of government:

* Self govt

* Family govt

* Church govt

* Civil govt

* All government should be UNDER GOD.

* It works like an umbrella in the rain - so long as you stand under it you’re safe.

* Your authority structure is a “relationship hierarchy.”

* It has many different layers depending on where you are in life.

* If you step outside you will have stepped outside God’s protective umbrella.

* You can’t be right with God and wrong with the authority in your life.

* Caveat - the balancing truth of Scripture is when your authority moves out from underneath God’s authority, you stay under God.

* Seeing authority in terms of relationship is why Paul mentions debt in vs 8:

* Debt changes your relationship to another and places you under them.

* If you want power in your life, you have to stay under authority.

* Walking in authority is all about staying in your place of responsibility.

* Pain is turned to profit through the path of work.

* The place of resistance is changed to the place of rest through labor!

* Backstory:

* David is gone from Jerusalem because of Absalom, and he’s thinking back to the ossum time he had close to God’s Tabernacle.

* He recalls the three pilgrimages all Israelites were to take:

* Passover - reminder of the death angel “passing over” in Egypt.

* Pentacost (50 days later) - foreshadowing of the Holy Spirit.

* Feast of Booths - so they wouldn’t forget wandering in the dessert.

* As they traveled the crowd grew bigger and bigger.

* Vs 1-6 - the Valley of Baka

* It was a wetland on the path that represented an impasse.

* What would they do? Options:

* Wait for God to do a miracle like He did for Moses.

* Go around - but that would make the trip even longer.

* Get to work - turn the obstacle into an opportunity.

* They chose to get to work!

* The RESULT of their work?

* What was once painful now became profitable.

* What was once an impasse was now turned to income.

* The place of pain now became a place of peace.

* The place of resistance became a place to rest and refuel.

* EX: my great room wall.

* The REWARD for their work?

* Vs 7 - The presence of God! They made it to the Temple!

* The requirement for work is faithfulness.

* The reward for work is rest.

* The result of work is that God gets glory.

*

* If your tithe is holy, then the rest of your money is holy.

* Paul is talking about the gospel going to the Gentiles after it went to the Jews.

* The Jews were “the firstfruits” of the gospel and were holy, so now the Gentiles are holy as well.

* They are all “people.”

* But let’s talk about money.

* When you give your tithe / first fruits to God, it makes the rest of your money holy.

* Holy means - Set Apart / Devoted.

* Principles for Holy Money:

* It’s Not Yours - stewardship vs ownership.

* Stewards have possession for not the rights of ownership.

* It’s a tool - tools are used to build things.

* We are responsible to build God’s kingdom.

* It’s a burden-lifter - making your own money allows you to:

* Not be a burden to anyone.

* Not be beholden to anyone.

* Be a blessing to everyone.

* It’s meant to be given - the generous person will always prosper.

* When you give to God you “lend” to the Lord (Proverbs 19:17).

* Giving apart from a strategy is chaos.

* Ex: new apt complex.

You become a slave to that in which you cave.

• Paul had just explained that we are under grace, not law.

• But the doesn’t mean we can sin freely and be forgiven.

• Vs 15-16 - you are a slave to whoever you give in to.

• Two natures at war - SINFUL nature vs SUPER nature.

• You will become a slave of one or the other.

• How do we win?

• Three Steps to Victory:

• 1) Pledge allegiance - vs 17.

• Salvation by allegiance alone (dedication, devotion, fidelity, obedience).

• 2) Align your identity - vs 18.

• You have “become” a slave to righteousness.

• All religions have belief and behavior, Christianity has becoming!

• Romans 6:11 - “consider” yourself dead to sin.

• Don’t identify with your sinful nature.

• 3) Make a decision - vs 19

• How do you overcome temptation?

• The same way you gave into it - you decided to do it!

• EX: my daughter Lundi struggled with fear for a long time…

• She became a slave to it.

• She would say, “I am scared.” I taught her to say “I am strong!”

• You become a slave to that in which you cave.

* Focus on the Person and trust Him with the promise.

* SF Giants pitcher - he’s focusing on God over his platform.

* Bible Backstory on Romans 4:

* Paul is trying to show two things:

* Salvation comes through faith, not works.

* Salvation is for all people, not just Jews.

* He uses Abraham as an example.

* Abe believed and his faith was “credited to him” as righteousness - he didn’t have to work to get it.

* But look at how his belief was tested, and how Abe made it through.

* Vs 17-22 - Abe received salvation.

* Genesis 15:5-6 - the promise!

* Genesis 22:1-3 - the test!

* Genesis 22:9-13 - salvation!

* He focused on the PERSON over the PROMISE because he was “fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised.” (Romans 4:21)

* “THIS” was credited to him as righteousness.

* Problem - if you focus on the promise (or whatever God has given to you) over God Himself, you begin to operate strategically rather than spiritually.

* Abe did this and ended up shacking up with his servant girl and they had Ishmael.

* We did this with HGTV, but God jolted us back in line.

* Focus on the Person and trust Him with the promise.

* Be faithful in little and you will be faithful in big.

* Being faithful with nobody watching is the path to being faithful when everybody is watching.

* Vs 70-72 - David was prepared to shepherd people because he was faithful to shepherd sheep.

* God crowning David the shepherd king would be like Warren Buffet giving control of his companies to his young nephew who ran a snow-cone business.

* He guided them “with skillful hands.”

* He took his job seriously - he didn’t cut corners.

* Phillip Keller, a professional shepherd, wrote a book on Psalm 23.

* He said that for sheep to “lie down” 4 things are required:

* 1) They must be FULL.

* 2) They must be UNAFRAID.

* 3) They must be CONTENT.

* 4) They must be in UNITY.

* David learned to do this for sheep, and because he was faithful to do it God promoted him.

* Proverbs 22:29 - “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men.”

* He was righteous

* He was a worshipper

* He was not a victim

* He was a strengthener

* He was resolute

* He fought for the needy

* He was empathetic

* He was compassionate