Shalom

 I need shalom, I want shalom! Shalom is really something we would all like because it is what we all need to enjoy everything else.

Shalom is captured by the following terms; wholeness, blessings, prosperity, calmness, stillness, being undisturbed, being complete, having security, and the profound word of Peace.

 No matter how old or young you are, shalom is the secret to making life fulfilling. You can have everything this world offers and without shalom, it’s all hollow-it doesn’t satisfy-there is always something missing. 

Our world in 2013 is in desperate need of Shalom. Shalom is an old Hebrew term, there are more than a dozen English words that try and capture the meaning of shalom.

 We all crave shalom, we want shalom, and we need shalom-it’s like this unspoken thing that we are all trying to get but we don’t consciously know that we are striving for shalom. We feel empty when we don’t have shalom, there is something wrong that is hard to define, so we try and get more stuff from our world. We think that our wish list will solve the emptiness, but the only One who can meet the need for shalom, is the One who created the need. Our world system and the stuff from this world doesn’t satisfy- we all need and want true shalom, ultimate peace-but it is only found in a relationship with God. 

As hard as we try to get peace by just getting one more thing from our list, it will never completely satisfy. My desire is that we would all experience shalom. Wouldn’t you really love to have shalom this season? Turn to the God of the universe-Yahweh-and ask Him for His Peace, that peace that passes understnding.

Complain or Change our Focus

We have no excuse for our attitudes of despair-no excuse for being tired-as I complain about other believers, as I complain about our government, as I complain about my circumstances-I am ultimately complaining about God and doubting His goodness. We can change our attitudes by changing our focus-move our eyes off of our circumstances and look to the God of circumstance! He is not tired, depressed, or worried and He lives within you-believer!

Please People or Please God

Who are some people you are trying to please?

We are taught that to get ahead in this life we need to learn to focus on pleasing people-the never ending game begins by trying to meet our own needs and then we move to the needs of those around us. We try and meet our needs, the needs of friends, the needs of parents, and of course, all the needs of the kids. We try and meet the needs of our spouses, our bosses, and our co-workers. On top of that comes trying to meet the needs of our religious leaders, our church, and then at the root we try and meet the needs of God- we try to live up to some standard that makes us okay with our Holy God.  How is that working for you? 

  I find that if I forget my identity as Abba’s child-as the beloved, accepted child of God-I become enslaved to the approval or the disapproval of others instead of being who I am-a bond-servant of Christ.

That is what happened to the Apostle Paul as he was climbing the ladder of success-moving up in leadership in the Jewish religion of all places(what a better place than to be pursuing religion)-God stopped him cold-knocked him down-humbled him!    

 Galatians 1:10 Paul learned to stop and consider that in Christ, he is pleasing to God.

What are some ways God stops us when we are going our own way-when we are trying to please ourselves and other people?

Is God reminding you that you are acceptable and pleasing to Him?

Is it time to step aside and allow God to be God in your life and the lives of those around you?

 Rest in Him! It is amazing what God can accomplish without our help.

What do you Treasure in Life?

What do you regard as precious? What are trying to store and collect? Where are you investing your life? What causes you to think, "My life would be better if I only had______or my life would be worse if I lost_______?" We all make investments of time, money and energy to the things or people that we believe are worthwhile. When it's all said and done, and we look back on our lives, we will understand that our lives were given to these investments. You see, there is a life at stake here, yours! I believe it is worth the time to consider the end, and to consider where you are investing your life.
If we treasure our relationship with God as our primary investment, every other investment will fall into place. It sounds reasonable and simple, but there are plenty of false gods-counterfeit gods, that vie for our attention-that clamor to be preeminent.
There are popular American Idols; good works, good stuff, and good relationships that compete with  who is the ultimate good----God. You see we can treasure our good works, our good performance over our relationship to God. It's easy to think, I'm a pretty good guy, and thus I am probably on the right track with my life. The Apostle Paul discovered his good works, which were significantly better than mine, by the way, were rubbish compared to knowing Christ. When Paul began to pursue God as his treasure, did Paul stop doing good works? No, as a matter of fact, God then used Paul to pen most of the New Testament. When God is the treasure, good works follow, He is the source of all that is truly good.
Another stumbling block to having God as our treasure is the stuff of this world.We all know there is a lot of attractive stuff everywhere we turn. We desire the assets, the riches, the leisure, and the material prosperity of our world, often thinking we can fit God in after we achieve our dreams. God doesn't just "fit in" anywhere, He IS! As we realize our significance, our acceptance, and our security ultimately come from God, only then are we able to take or to leave the stuff of this world. We can learn AW Tozer's secret-the blessedness of possessing nothing-potentially having everything and yet possessing nothing.
Finally we stumble over human relationships; family, marriage, and friendship among others. We believe if we can just have these relationships, everything else in life will fall into place. We become people-pleasers wherein we try to make everyone around us happy and thus believe we will be joyful and fulfilled. Healthy relationships with people spring from and have their foundation in a healthy relationship with God.
As we evaluate where to invest our lives, we must ask, "Why invest in God first over good works, good stuff and good relationships?"  The obvious answer is that He is God, He is the Creator, the Provider, the Judge, and the Great I AM. But beyond the obvious, Jesus Christ provided us with a track record of how to invest a life. Jesus Christ had everything beyond what we could ever imagine-yes, good works, good stuff, and good relationships-the ultimate of each! This great God decided to give it all up for what He knew had the greatest value- He gave His all for the best investment-He gave His life for you!! Will you surrender your life to Him?

Overcoming Doubt

We all struggle in one degree or another, at one time or another, with doubt. The root of most of these battles can be tied back to our struggle to believe God, we often simply doubt the goodness of God.
Doubt can mean to waver, to stand in two ways, to hesitate when you are not certain of a way to go.
Between belief and unbelief we face doubt. When we are overwhelmed with our circumstances, and the problems of life, and the worry of the future, we doubt. Often we doubt God, we doubt that He is good. Doubt is something that we all have to overcome, it has been passed on to us from our earliest ancestors. Adam and Eve doubted God's goodness prior to sin entering their lives and we have dealt with the consequences ever since.
Doubt is not sin, although it can lead to sin. Doubt is not unbelief. Unbelief toward God is rebellion or faithlessness. Unbelief toward God is a moral problem, it is when we choose not to believe . Doubt is more of an intellectual problem, the battle is for the mind. In our circumstances, we want to believe God is in control and that God has good plans for us and yet we struggle to believe. We are stuck with doubt between belief and unbelief.
Doubt is overcome by faith in God. As we renew our minds to the truth of who God is- the truth of the word of God-the truth that God is good- the truth that God is in control, only then are we are able to walk forward in the midst of our circumstances by faith. As we look to Jesus Christ and rely on Him we are able to say with the apostle Thomas, "My Lord and my God!" John 20:28
In the midst of our struggles, our circumstances, our sorrows and our pain, when we turn to Jesus Christ and our focus is upon Him, we move from doubters to worshipers.

Overcoming Doubt

A Ministry of Peace and Forgiveness

When Jesus Christ was crucified, His disciples must have believed they had lost everything. They had forsaken all to follow Him and now He was dead. They had placed their trust in Him as the Messiah and they had left their jobs, their families, and their friends believing Jesus to be the One. They probably feared the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman government officials would be searching for them next. As they pondered their seemingly hopeless situation, Jesus Christ appears!
You can pick up the account in John 20 and Luke 24, Jesus appears and offers peace. "Peace be with you" He said as He stood in their midst, and in an instant everything changed! The fear, the worry, the discouragement, the helplessness, and the insecurity of the disciples turned to joy when their focus was on Jesus Christ. He offered them peace, the Hebrew idea of shalom; well-being, wholeness, security and prosperity, what an offer! His offer still stands today for believers who put their focus on Jesus Christ, we receive His peace. Everything changes when we experience His peace, the shalom that is beyond understanding.
Jesus also provided perspective to His disciples, Luke explains, "He opened their minds that they might understand the Scriptures." They understood the Truth! Believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and we are able to understand the Scriptures, they point to the Truth. As we look to Jesus Christ we receive His peace and we are able to have a proper perspective on the circumstances in our lives.
Not only did Jesus provide peace and perspective but He also gave them a purpose; to extend His forgiveness to others. The idea is simple, they were to know God and make Him known, to love God and love others, to understand they are forgiven and to extend His forgiveness to others.
As Christ followers today we are offered a similar opportunity, we can experience God's peace, His perspective and His forgiveness. We have the privilege of passing along to others in our lives the peace, perspective and forgiveness of God. As we turn our focus to Jesus Christ and receive His perspective, may our lives be filled with His ministry of peace and forgiveness.
Link to sermon:
A Ministry of Peace and Forgiveness

The Royal Priesthood

Access is defined as the right to approach, and the ability to communicate. We all want access to certain people, to certain friends, to the powerful, and to the successful. But ultimately each and every one of us is designed to desire access to the One Holy God. Adam and Eve had this access, they were created in a relationship with God; they were clean, they were naked and not ashamed, and they were anointed. Through their sin they lost access; the relationship was broken, they lived in sin and shame, separate from the Spirit of God.
Even though we seldom consider a relationship with God, life on earth is made up of attempting to connect with Him. We all try to experience God, and we all want to get to know God. The Bible explains what is required for us to connect with God; the picture is given through the priesthood, through the system of sacrifices, and through the temple. All sin, all fail, all fall short of a Holy God and thus all men and women need a savior to able to have access to Him. He is holy, we are not!
Jesus Christ is the savior we all need. When Christ died the veil in the temple, the veil that separated the people and the priests from the presence of God, was torn from top to bottom, Mark 15:38. God provided the ultimate sacrifice of His Son so we could have access to Him. The requirement is that we trust Him, Hebrews 10:14-25.
Through Jesus Christ we can all have a relationship with God, we are cleansed of our sin, we are clothed with His righteousness and anointed with His Spirit.
Through Jesus Christ we have the right to approach and the ability to communicate with the God of ages. Have you gained the access to God that you have desired? Trust Jesus Christ today.
 Link to Sermon:
      The Royal Priesthood