In Christ, we are blessed by association because having a relationship with Christ is based on the authenticity of our faith. We have a shared identity with the Redeemer, and because of this we are blessed with both eternal provision.
"Thriving in a Strange Land - Flourishing Beyond Our Setbacks" Exodus 2: 10-22, The Message
Lamentations is a collection of 5 laments, or psalms of lament. To lament means to wail, to mourn or to weep. Attributed to the weeping prophet Jeremiah, Lamentations sings the sad songs of a people who have been battered by a foreign power, Babylon.
We shared on Sunday that edgy choices can be difficult. Decisions birthed in adversity are often the result of people daring to hold to hope, even when hopelessness is all around them. Jochebeb is an example of a person who makes a creative, innovative and life-giving choice all while contending with the potential for despair, devastation and death.
These two followers of Jesus were walking away from Jerusalem with their doubts, sense of confusion and overall disbelief of the initial Gospel message of Jesus’s resurrection. In short, they were walking away from Christ.
The Resurrection of Jesus was and is a cosmos-altering moment. In Jesus’s rising from the grave, the grip of sin, hell and death upon humanity was/is destroyed for those who choose to embrace the resurrected truth of who Jesus is. Embracing the power of the resurrection is not momentary. It is not just about feeling good on Resurrection Sunday morning. Rather, it is about believing that the power of the Spirit’s life is always at work in the Church, the believer and the spaces we as believers occupy. Jesus is not only alive, but Jesus is the Life-Giver.
Don't drown in the shallow-end of believing our own hype and press because your temporary resource supply appears to be limitless.
There are 2 critical things we need to do to ensure we are caring for ourselves during this radically challenging season:1. Practice holistic self-care 2. Invest in and care for others
"Trusting While We Wait" Lamentations 3:25-26 ESV, The MSG
No one likes to go to tombs; dead places. But the miracle of Resurrection Sunday is that confronting death can result in experiencing new life. New life can only be discovered when we press past our fears and dare to go to the tomb. As much as we fear the tomb, we must face the tomb in order to encounter the Good News of a resurrected Christ.
As disciples we have a personal responsibility to inspect what we produce.
Strength can be found through the following resources: The conviction stirred by prophetic proclamation, The anointing secured through aligning our priorities with GOD’s agenda, and The guarantee of GOD’s constant presence and covenanted promises
When GOD remembers Noah, GOD:1. Begins the process of readying Noah to exit the ark and reconstitutes his purpose as the agent of a new Divine Covenant; Noah is preserved for a purpose.2. Breathes a fresh wind on the earth signaling that GOD's Spirit does show up in dead and confusing places with the ordering power of GOD’s life.
After Jesus calls the 12 Apostles (sent ones), Jesus engages them along with a diverse and large crowd of others. Specially, the ochlos (common crowd) and plethos (multitude). This language is important because Jesus's ministry is directed toward everybody; not just the elite. Not just the privileged. Not just those who think they are on the top of the heap, but everybody.
Attributes of a Leader: Learn to Wait and Trust God; Listen to the Voice of God; Confidence comes from God
A crucible is a time of extreme testing and challenge. Diamonds are forged in the earth, but refined through the process of cutting. What will this season expose about us?
The blessing in the text is not regulated to the reality of the hearers' experiences but revealed through relationship with the Teacher; the blessing is in the Person, Jesus. In other words, Jesus is letting these hungry and weeping hearers know that their change is connected to accessing the words He is giving them.
Sermon 1 in this series will tackle the Lucan Beatitudes with the goal of bringing these words of blessing back to earth a bit. I do not know about anyone else, but I desire to know that the blessings of the Lord, the fulfillment of the Lord and the goodness of the Lord are not just regulated to the great by and by, but that as a citizen of the realm of GOD I can access the blessed life even while passing through this rocky world.
The Raven Is restless , flying in and out of the ark? – bad translations suggest the raven kept flying over the earth, no the raven kept flying back and forth between the ark and a deluged earth instead of being patient, strategic and faithful. Pursues rest and when the dove can’t find rest, the dove does not have a problem going back to where it is safe – I was provided for in the ark, I ate seeds and vegetation in the ark, the ark kept almost a year, so why get restless because the ark is different; diverse seasons require diverse provision; Noah I believe points us a bit to GOD in the text, when the dove can’t perch, Noah reaches for the dove and brings the dove back in.
Innovative and creative people are able to make edgy choices when faced with adversity. Thinking outside of the box can preserve life and enable us to partner with GOD's creativity. Moses's mother Jochebed defied Pharaoh and became a freedom fighter for her people.
John 14:15-17 ESV If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you
David is not done traveling the journey toward kingship, but the temporary hold of the cave is over. Let us always remember no matter the gloom of the cave, it is never permanent, only preparation.
We are called to move from a premise of revenge to operating as agents of restoration which is difficult and counter to our natural inclinations of paying others back for the wrong they have done toward us.
These are the ways I prepare for the floods of life: 1. I have to have a relationship with Jesus that surpasses flattery and is founded on a resilient faith - yes there are many of us who specialize in religious language but do not yield to a redemptive relationship with Jesus.
Here's a few chewable nuggets for us to consider as we wrestle with what it means to operate with certainty in uncertain times: Receive the blessing GOD grants even the most frightening moments, Rest in the relief GOD gives even when we can't see our way, and Re-calibrate and move forward because the journey is not done.
There are circumstances, crowds and conditions that will seek to silence our ability to praise God, but Disciples always find a reason to offer God praise despite the opposition of outside detractors and distractions; and at a time like this legitimate disappointments.
It is never too late to reset, refocus and restart. We can begin again by: Confessing we have sinned by means of self-centered complacency, acknowledging that many of our loses and set-backs may have been caused by external forces, and Realizing GOD’s mercy and love transcend our shortcomings.
Why? Because all of creation and all of the resources of creation belong to GOD as the Creator. Being shook by GOD’s presence brings humanity into a place of holy wonder and awe of the central place GOD should have in our lives. GOD disrupts our priorities so that we can be re-centered in GOD. Shaking is not the end goal, peace, restoration and GOD’s glory are.
Crisis/Crises often result in turning point moments for us. This is true of our own personal crises as well as societal crises.
Blessings still come to those who GOD keeps in the wilderness. The barrenness of the season does not negate GOD's ordained blessings. The season might appear to be cursed, but that doesn't mean we are not blessed.
GOD is the Farmer and Christ the Vine - GOD is setting us up for spiritual productivity as long as we make the commitment to remain in the Vine.
Holla if you hear me because like those receiving the prophetic words in the text, we live in a culture where we are full of GOD talk and not as much GOD Walk - The transgression of talking more than we walk It.
How do I manage the music, the sound and the noisy unlikable groove of tough seasons? Understand as a person of faith, my exilic circumstances, my struggles and my challenges, cannot prohibit me from being prepared to stand when everyone else is ready to bow – some songs we must not only dislike but we must skip and oppose.
We can make 3 assertions regarding our life in GOD. We will be attacked We must be prepared We cannot be shaken or annoyed by the inevitable, but we must remain, best we can, unfazed and unbothered.
A grateful and faithful Christian ought to have a few things to say and some "stuff" they ought to want to get off of their chests.
The "why" praise is connected to the "whoness" of God. What makes praise authentic and not performance is an authentic understanding of who GOD is to you in light of your personal relationship and engagement with GOD.
How does this Psalm aid us in seeking gladness during tough times.
Growing is an essential component to living into our purpose and divine assignment, and the process of growth has no shortcuts.
The humility of the Manger; The utility of the Manger; The accessibility of the Manger.
“We Are Still Here!” Because in the face of challenges we have dared to trust the Lord.
We have been called to one walk; a walk of humility, gentleness, patience, and love. The supernatural power of the universal Church makes us One Body. But even as we are called to unity and oneness, Christ has graced us individually according to expansive generosity of his gifts.
A talk between Jesus and a woman is Biological, Sociological, Theological, and Christological
Are we in tune to the lack others might have? Do we believe Jesus can and will meet the needs of others? Are we willing to still speak in faith even when Jesus seems to be delaying action?
Leave the graveyard because it was never meant to be a permanent place, but a temporary location for miraculous manifestation; Leave the graveyard even when your emotional, mental, and spiritual state is conflicted; Leave the graveyard realizing that Jesus’s presence will often meet us as we go, and not when we stay stuck.
We have to trust the words of Jesus without proof of their immediate validity. We have to rest in the tension that worship and doubt (little faith) can be a reality for the believer. Both doubt and devotion are subject to both the approach and authority of Jesus.
“I Got You because…” We should share core beliefs - not simply a litany of dogmatic assertions, but we should share a belief in GOD’s miraculous power (see Acts 4: 29-31) - we are collectively serving as witnesses to GOD’s power in Christ.
Ways in which we access the privileges of confirmation: Acceptance, Confession, Yielding, and Filling. The results of our lives as a church should be marked by Demonstration, Separation, Rejuvenation, and Sanctification
Practice Rejoicing; rejoicing Must be rehersed and enacted repeatedly. Implement gentleness because the Lord is near. Manage anxiety through articulating what I need;
Nourish our minds for the sake of peace, joy, contentment and accomplishment by: meditating, studying and rehearsing what is good; valuing the roles of godly mentors and thought leaders in our lives; inviting the peaceful presence of God into our lives through an ongoing and growing relationship with Christ.
Supplied believers make themselves available to struggles and needs of others, strive to do what's right, are rewarded for their kindness, and are in relationship with a God who supplies.
Traps often appear in the midst of right-doing and ministerial focus; sadly treat the vulnerable as pawns and not as persons deserving respect; and are handled best by a steady focus of the ministerial foci of liberation, life, and light.
Traps are often tricks of the Enemy designed to distract you from both the grace and purposes of God at work in us; When trappers attack, Jesus does not retaliate, instead Jesus responds with grace; Traps Traffic in deception, and because of such cannot stand up against the truth.
Jesus is the Lifter, Provider of light and a Liberator who is the Word and the Way of liberation and freedom.
According to the writer of Colossians, Christ is: The image of the invisible GOD, The Blueprint and Agent of Creation as the Begotten, The Center of Creation, The Person of Preeminence in all things, The Location of GOD’s full indwelling, and The Reconciler and Redeemer.
As our Savior, Christ rescues us! As our Reconciler, Christ reconnects us!
You can be elected even while exiled; GOD Chooses saints in Christ; Wholly humans live into being wholly holy and greater sanctification
Seasonal suffering has a powerful way of providing glimpses into the potency of eternal glory - glory matters more when you have suffered
Jesus practices humility in opposition to those who operate with a haughty attitude; Jesus persistently fulfills GOD's purpose regardless as the objections of a well-meaning John the Baptist; Jesus allows GOD's pleasure and commendation to be his goal.
Self-entitlement is when an individual perceives themselves as deserving of unearned privileges. These are the people who believe life owes them something; a reward, a measure of success, a particular standard of living.
In short, don’t judge Eutychus’s seat, fatigue or fall - because his seat, fatigue and fall did not result in his demise, but instead resulted in what appears to be a miracle.
The House of the Lord is an essential fueling station; a place where those who love the LORD are able to provide a drink for someone else; a location of of elevation.
There is no better place than the House of the Lord; The House of the Lord is not just a place, but it is an embodied way of thinking, behaving, and living; just being in the House and being in the Lord is all that matters; with a life of worship, I've placed a deposit on an eternal home, and I am already able to use the eternal equity.
All of my good days really do outweigh my bad days; As a pilgrim journeying on purpose, the faith I have in GOD not only confirms arrival to my destination, but I am also the recipient of stored blessings along the way.
Like the Psalmist I know in Whom I worship; I have learned that being blessed is far greater than simply seeking blessings; I have discovered that actively choosing to trust the LORD floods my life with grace, and favor.
Jesus' request involves sacrifice and maybe discomfort; requests of Jesus are centered on the other and not selfish. Jesus always gives us more than we had before he got on the Boat; let Jesus have your Boat!
How about this Thanksgiving season we view the blessings of GOD as a catalyst to more service, ministry, usefulness and transformation, instead of isolated proof that GOD can provide what GOD has already secured. Jesus causing Simon to get the catch was the easy part. Now Jesus is calling Simon to leave the catch and do the greater thing! Serve.
Advent = arrival - And thru the Advent of the Son of GOD in Jesus; It is in the crucible of pensive relief and passionate anguish we wait; Actively waiting on GOD to do what we cannot do on our own.
Sometimes the sorrow of one season can turn into a song within the next; The faithfulness of GOD’s presence provides the people of GOD with the hope that even the worst of seasons can shift; As long as GOD is living among GOD’s people- GOD is with us
A woman, a person like Mary, has the audacity to say yes, even when saying no would be the easier, safer and perhaps more logical choice; Wisdom drives a person like Mary to connect her assignment to the proper human relationship(s); Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Ghost in order to let Mary know you will be blessed because you are allowing GOD to fulfill in you both the burden and the blessing, the blessing and the burden the world stands in need of!
Ezekiel prophesies what he is told by GOD, and as a result of obedience hears the sound of life in a dead and bone-filled valley; Ezekiel does “not see life” in what is lifeless until what is slain receives GOD’s breath. The valley of dry bones is real, but it does not have to be the conclusion!
Reverence - our posture - we will place the LORD at the center? Service - our duty - we will make ministry our focus? Consecration - our loyalty - we will walk in discipleship even when it hurts?
Anna is: Part of a prophetic pair; Carries a prolific background, but forges her own identity; Subverts a precarious plight; Engages a purposeful prayer discipline; and has no problem with protracted and powerful praise.
The Savior of all seems to make a distinction between those worthy of help and those who are not; and yet the pressure of the situation allows for great faith to shine through!
She trusts what she hears; She challenges the most powerful man in Palestine and the most powerful man in her life; She speaks the truth; Her sheroic actions are not lauded, do nothing to stop what is wrong.
Going higher doesn't always equate to easily evident exaltation; Following Jesus is not always a journey of sweetness, sometimes it is a journey of frightening surrender; Even when the followers of Jesus are not clear, Jesus is clear.
The invitation of following Jesus requires that Peter, you, and I focus, wear what Jesus tells us to wear & take off, trust that our cross is our cross, and release ourselves from the expectations and judgements of others.
"We are Loving, Living and Serving for the Sake of Jesus Christ"
1025 Jessie Street
Jacksonville, Florida 32206
904.354.5295
email@theoak.org
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