Vertical Church Orlando

In Luke 6 we see that the battlefield is the Sabbath, but the issue at stake here is LEGALISM.  Just like the previous week, we see religion pop up again!  On one side we have Jesus who is a rescuer, redeemer, and restorer inviting people into relationship VS religion who is a punisher that pounds people into submission out of devotion to the regulations and rules.  Martin Luther said:  “Religion is the default mode of the human heart” and we’re going to do battle with that tendency this week!

How far will God go to save people separated from Him because of their sin?  Who is He willing to forgive and offer life, purpose, and meaning to?  He saves the ungodly, the lawless, unholy, profane, immoral, liars and anything else you want to add to the list that is contrary to a life that takes sound teaching from the Bible and rightly applies it to life.  Broken and repentant people realize they have fallen short and are rescued because of what Christ has done and through faith in Him, turning from a self-ruled life, and following Him as Savior and Lord, forgiveness and restoration are found.  I Timothy 1:8-17 is a good reminder that we will find mercy as Jesus demonstrates His perfect patience and shows us what redemption looks like for those who believe and experience eternal life.

The Bible puts it pretty simply for us:  If you’re filthy…come to Jesus and He can and will cleanse you.  If you’re guilty…come to Jesus b/c He can and will forgive.  And if you’re religious…knock it off!

When we gather Sunday’s, it’s often called a “Church Service.” But, that’s not it at all…it should actually be considered a training exercise that is focused on teaching truth that teaches us what it means to love God to then take what we learn and go apply it.  We need to be prepared for the battle raging out there for our marriages, kids, relationships, time, and money that has been entrusted to us and when we employ what Jesus teaches it changes us!

Jesus has a busy day and preaches, heals a demon possessed guy, and then heals Simon's mother-in-law. Lots of spiritual activity with some study of the enemy, spiritual warfare, and keeping focused on Jesus. Through it all we do believe that there is an enemy, but we EMPHASIZE Jesus and He is central to our thinking, doctrine, and we should be enamored with Him.  HEB. 12:2 tells us to fix our eyes on Him!

Today…if you’ve heard His voice then head to the feet of Jesus and ask Him what the next step looks like.  HS is prompting you towards obedience…don’t let that nudge on your heart become a callous that makes it harder and harder for you to hear from Him.

Fasting and Temptation. We can walk in freedom and life by the power of HS, as we study Scripture, realize we have an enemy, look for the way of escape, and celebrate the victory we have in Jesus…we are no longer slaves to sin but adopted as sons and daughters into a family and Kingdom that will stand for eternity b/c of Jesus.

Lots of names! Behind all these names we see God is faithful to work generationally! This week we will explore the human and God side of Jesus and venture into a BUNCH of other verses declaring the hypostatic union where He is 100% God AND 100% man at the same time.

When truth is taught there are two types of responses:  some repent, some fight. John baptizes Jesus and in being baptized Jesus is essentially saying that the message is true and He sets the example to follow. 

Also, we see an example of obedience for EVERYONE who would follow Him (Matt. 3:15). If we were to engage in a simple study of the NT we would see that EVERY SINGLE baptism occurred AFTER someone placed their faith in Christ.

Around Vertical we want to encourage people to consider not what the church says, not what Dave thinks, but what does the Bible teach as it is our final authority. Another week pressing into the importance of baptism.