DON’T BELIEVE THE LIES

How to Live the Extraordinary Life

Part 11

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. (Romans 1:17 (NLT)

…We pray…for you, asking God to ...fill up any little cracks there may yet be in your faith. 1 Thessalonians 3:10 (LB)

TRUTH: YOU ARE EXTRAORDINARY ROYALTY BECAUSE

1. GOD SEES ME AS HIS OWN CHOOSEN PEOPLE

... you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9 (NLT)

He (Jesus) lets us rule as kings and serve God his Father as priests. To him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

Revelation 1:6 (CEV)

For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. ¹⁷And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.

Romans 8:16-17 (NLT)

2. WE ARE EMPOWERED TO DEFEAT THE LIES OF THIS WORLD

Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory. 1 John 5:4 (CEV)

For we live by believing and not by seeing. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NLT)

A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest.

John 10:10 (CEV)

Death ruled like a king because Adam had sinned. But that cannot compare with what Jesus Christ has done. God has been so kind to us, and he has accepted us because of Jesus. And so we will live and rule like kings. Romans 5:17 CEV)

3. YOU DON’T MAKE EXCUSES. YOU LIVE BY FAITH IN GOD

“Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes. Acts 3:16 (NLT)

But if you're not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe… then you know that you're out of line. If the way you live isn't consistent with what you believe, then it's wrong. Romans 14:23-24 (TM)

God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. Scripture says the same:

Your words stand fast and true;
Rejection doesn't faze you.

Romans 3:4 (TM)

¹⁷When the banquet was ready, he sent a servant to tell the guests, "Everything is ready! Please come."

¹⁸One guest after another started making excuses. The first one said, "I bought some land, and I've got to look it over. Please excuse me."

¹⁹Another guest said, "I bought five teams of oxen, and I need to try them out. Please excuse me." Luke 14:17-19 (CEV)

JESUS LOVES YOU

DON’T MAKE EXCUSES! START LIVING THE LIFE TO THE FULL, ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF GOD.

IT’S ALL ABOUT BELIEVING GOD’S WORD

How to live the Extraordinary Life

Part 10

Jesus stood there amazed! Turning to the crowd he said, “I haven’t seen faith like this in all the land of Israel! 11And I tell you this, that many Gentiles (non Jews) [like this Roman officer], shall come from all over the world and sit down in the Kingdom of Heaven… 13Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go on home. What you have believed has happened!” And the boy was healed that same hour! Matthew 8:10-11, 13 (LB)

“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. 8They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. Jeremiah 17:5, 7 (NLT)

YOU ARE EXTRAORDINARY!

1. DECIDE TO LIVE SOLID IN GOD’S FAITH

FAITH – Believing that God will do what He says.

Faith produces actions of obedience.

Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua and Caleb, tore their clothing. 7 They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! 8And if the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. 9Do not rebel against the LORD, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

10 But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle. 11And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? Numbers 14:6-11 (NLT)

2. YOU ARE NOT ENSLAVED TO BE ORDINARY

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

19I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 1:18-20 (NLT)

We show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they are not hard to follow. 4Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory.

1 John 5:3-4 (CEV)

3. NO MORE EXCUSES

But if a person has doubts … he is condemned because he didn’t act in faith. Anything that is not done in faith is sin.

Romans 14:23 (GWT)

Faith in Jesus' name put this man, whose condition you know so well, on his feet—yes, faith and nothing but faith put this man healed and whole right before your eyes. Acts 3:16 (TM)

I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. Philippians 3:12-14 (TM)

JESUS LOVES YOU

HOW TO ACCESS GOD’S GRACE

How to live the Extraordinary Life

Part 9

…we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. Romans 5:1-2 (NIV)

We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn't do them a bit of good because they didn't receive the promises with faith. Hebrews 4:1-2 (TM)

THE PIPELINE TO GOD’S GRACE IS GOD’S FAITH

1. GOD GIVES THE FAITH TO LIVE IN HIS GRACE

FAITH – Believing that God will do what He says.

Faith produces actions of obedience.

Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 6:23 (NASB)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 (NIV)

We conclude that a person has God’s approval because of faith, not because of his own efforts. Romans 3:28 (GOD’S WORD Translation)

2. THE PROOF OF FAITH IS LIVING LIFE PLEASING TO GOD

Anyone who doesn't breathe is dead, and faith that doesn't do anything is just as dead! James 2:26 (CEV)

Abraham didn't focus on his own impotence and say, "It's hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child." Nor did he survey Sarah's decades of infertility and give up. He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right." But it's not just Abraham; it's also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God. Romans 4:19-25 (TM)

VERB It's what you do

3. FAITH IS A VERB

It is something we do; it is an action word - it involves action.

Don’t you remember that even our father Abraham was declared good because of what he did, when he was willing to obey God, even if it meant offering his son Isaac to die on the alter? 22You see, he was trusting God so much that he was willing to do whatever God told him to ; his faith was made complete by what he did , by his actions, his good deeds. 23And so it happened just as the Scriptures say, that Abraham trusted God, and the Lord declared him good in God’s sight, and he was even called “the friend of God.” 24So you see, a man is saved by what he does, as well as by what he believes.

James 2:22-24 (LB)

It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 (TM)

JESUS LOVES YOU

Bottom line: I was trying to live a godly life without the power of God’s grace, and it just can’t be done

My Christmas Gift For You

A New Way To See Yourself In The World - Part 1

8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, 9are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? 10Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. 11For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ 12There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:8-12 (NLT)

A Miracle: An extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.

1. JESUS INVITES ALL OF US TO LIVE IN EVERYDAY MIRACLE TERRITORY

(God incidence – not coincidence)

11Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do. 12“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.

John 14:11-13 (NLT)

Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

Acts 15:12 (NLT)

2. TO BE GOD’S MIRACLE “DELIVERY AGENT” YOU MUST BECOME A WILLING SERVANT.

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.

2 Chronicles 16:9a (NKJV)

3 PARTNERING WITH GOD TO DELIVER MIRACLES AND KNOWING ABOUT GOD IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE

18Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! 19Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit…

Matthew 28:18-19 (CEV)

4While he was still with them, he said: Don't leave Jerusalem yet. Wait here for the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, just as I told you he has promised to do.

Acts 1:4 (CEV)

3I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

1 Corinthians 2:3-5 (NLT)

4. GO BEYOND GOOD WORKS GOD’S SUPERNATURAL POWER AND MIRACLES

19I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 1:19-20 (NLT)

31So, brethren, we [who are born again] are not children of a slave woman [the natural], but of the free [the supernatural].

Galatians 4:31 (Amplified Bible)

4Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world.

1 John 4:4 (Amplified Bible)

JESUS LOVES YOU

8Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 (NLT)

IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY CHECK UP 2009 CHECK UP

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Ephesians 5:15-17 (NLT)

1. WE SHOULD REMEMBER OUR BIRTH

13You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body, 14and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous! Of this I have no doubt.

Psalm 139:13-14 (CEV)

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 (NLT)

2. WE SHOULD REMEMBER OUR RE-BIRTH

On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!

38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him).

John 7:37-39 (NLT)

You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true.

John 4:35-37 (NLT)

3. WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHAT GOD HAS DONE IN OUR LIVES

We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.” Joshua 4:6-7(NLT)

Search for the LORD and for his strength;

continually seek him. 5 Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given, you children of his servant Abraham, you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones. Psalm 105:4-6 (NLT)

4. WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT GOD IS STILL AT WORK IN OUR LIVES

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.

2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NLT)

Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.

2 Corinthians 7:1 (NLT)

JESUS LOVES YOU

But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him

BEWARE OF EMOTIONAL UNFORGIVNESS 2009 CHECK UP– Part 2

27But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Luke 6:27-28, 35 (NIV)

1. SHOW YOUR LOVE THROUGH ACTION

(Do something good for them)

20-21Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good. (NLT) Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Romans 12:21 (TM)

2. FOLLOW JESUS WAY AND RECEIVE DOUBLE BLESSINGS EVERYTIME

Then Jesus said to all the people:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me.

Luke 9:23 (CEV)

35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.

Luke 6:35 (NLT)

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)

3. TRUST JESUS INSTRUCTIONS, NOT YOUR EMOTIONS

Your emotions are out of control, making you look fierce;

Job 15:12 (CEV)

During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Hebrews 5:7 (NIV)

A sound mind makes for a robust body,

but runaway emotions corrode the bones.

Proverbs 14:30 (TM)

JESUS LOVES YOU!

Jesus said: If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life. Galatians 6:8 (CEV)

BEWARE OF SPIRITUAL SWINE FLU 2009 CHECK UP– Part 1

Instead, they grumbled in their tents and refused to obey the LORD. Psalm 106:25 (NLT)

Friends, don't complain about each other. A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know. The Judge is standing just around the corner. James 5:9 (TM)

1. A COMPLAINING SPIRIT SHOWS YOU ARE UNGRATEFUL FOR GOD’S BLESSINGS

And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. 11 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.

13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

1 Corinthians 10:10-13 (NLT)

31 The Israelites called the food manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey wafers.

Exodus 16:31 (NLT)

2. THE ANTIDOTE FOR COMPLAINING IS THANKFULNESS, BECAUSE IT GIVES YOU A POSITIVE ATTITUDE ANCHORED IN JESUS

Jesus told them: Stop grumbling! John 6:42 (CEV)

Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Philippians 2:14-15 (NLT)

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 5:18 (NLT)

I am disgusted with my life.

Let me complain freely.

My bitter soul must complain. Job 10:1 (NLT)

Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Philippians 2:14 (NLT)

3. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMPLAINING AND CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK

Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool. Ecclesiastes 7:5 (NLT)

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)

Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. Matthew 7:5 (NLT)

JESUS LOVES YOU

Jesus said: It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” Matthew 15:11 (NLT)