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Live Now!
Rick Stone
Make the most out of your time here!!!
Allow yourself to agree!
Allow yourself to laugh and have fun!
Allow yourself to speak out during the message! (amen, that's right, say it, come on)
Allow yourself to come to the Alter!
Allow yourself to talk to God in prayer!
Allow yourself His way, His truth, and His life!
Allow yourself to be Born Again!
Allow yourself to be Baptized signifying your surrender and acceptance of His Lordship!
Luke12:22-34
Trust God! He knows what will be best for you in the moment!
22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. 32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Where your treasure is there your heart will be also!
When Time Stood Still:
I was watching the news a few weeks ago when they were doing an update on Hurricane Katrina and the remaining devastation in the city of New Orleans. The reporter was standing in the remains of restraint where things have remained the same as they were when Katrina hit. The camera panned around the dining room to reveal over turned tables, place settings on the floor, mud and debris, table clothes jumbled together with everything caught in between. Then the camera focused in on the reporter who was holding up a large electric clock. The clock had stopped exactly at the time the hurricane had overtaken the little restraint. There was still water in glass enclosed clock and the hands remained frozen to a specific time of horror and grief.
I remember exactly where I was when Mt. St. Helens blew here in Washington. I can remember reporters doing similar exposes showing time pieces frozen as power went out along the wake of the blast.
Time has always been a measuring stick for life, for productivity, for fun, for love, for trauma and pain.
In my own life I can point to times where others affected me so profoundly that my life was changed either immediately or through an on going set of choices that I made based upon that moment in time.
It's like it was yesterday when I was standing at the baseball back-stop watching three older boys carrying on, joking with each other and just having fun. I was easily provoked to laughter at that time of my young life. It really didn't dawn on me at the time that I was laughing with them over their antics and jokes when suddenly one of the boys came running over to me yelling at me, calling me names, asking if I was laughing at them and how would I like to get pounded into the ground! I was utterly shocked at this anger and sudden invitation to die for just laughing.
It was in that moment that the clock stopped for me. I vowed to never be made to laugh unless I chose to. I worked on keeping a straight face…showing no emotion until I became known as a "very serious young man". The amazing thing about those choices is that I was never been able to reverse them in any real way until I surrendered this and other choices over to Jesus.
The fact is, I have had many moments "When Time Stood Still". How about you? Can you remember times and situations that Intervened on the course of your life and caused you to choose a different way of responding to people and circumstances?
The word Intervened is an interesting one.
Its meaning is to come between people to alter the course of their lives. It also means to disturb what was normally understood or known so as to change ones understanding or knowledge.
Some of us are familiar with the term "Intervention". My wife and I have been a part of "Interventions" needed for members of our extended family as well as for those in the church dealing with various addictions. For those who may be unfamiliar with the process, Intervention generally means to say and do what ever it takes to influence an individual to accept change for themselves and pursue it! Interventions are almost always confrontational, painful for everyone involved and either heart breaking or hope building, depending on the decision of the one being intervened upon. It is always tough!!
The Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law tried to Intervene by holding Jesus to the past.
Luke 6:6-11 Jesus heals the man with the Shriveled hand.
6On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled.
7The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.
8But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Get up and stand in front of everyone." So he got up and stood there.
9Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?"
10He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was completely restored.
11But they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.
The Family of Jesus try to intervene in His identity.
Matt. 12:46-50 Who is my mother or my brothers?
46While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.
47Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."
48He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"
49Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers.
50For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
The Friends of Jesus try to intervene on His future.
Matt. 16:21-25 Peter declares that Jesus will not go to His death in Jerusalem.
21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
23Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
Jesus intervened and intervenes!
Eph. 2:12-19 Jesus destroyed the wall of separation between us and our Heavenly Father!
12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,
16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household.
Rom. 8:31-35Because Jesus intervened, we who accept His life and love can not be separated from Him!
31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Rev.3:20-21 Behold I stand at the door and knock!
20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
Jesus intervened so that we could have eternal Life NOW.
Jesus intervenes so that we can overcome "When Time Stood Still" and start the clock again!
Jesus didn't die for the sole reason that you and I could have peace, joy, laughter and happiness. He died because His death was the only price that could be paid for your life! He died so that you could have the opportunity to trade in your "old tired clock stopped life" for His "eternity now life"! He died because Father God loves you and wants to adopt you into His family!
What things have you allowed to stop you from living right now?
What have you allowed to stop your laughter, your peace, your hope…..your life in Christ Jesus?
Come to the Alter, give Him your life in total, allow Him to alter your life forever!!
What Do You Burn For?
Daniel Livengood
2 Timothy 1:13-15
Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
2 Timothy 2:8-10
Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect that they also may obtain the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
2 Timothy 4:10-11; 14-16
…for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica- Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me…Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works… At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me…
What do you burn for?
Here's a man named Paul who had an experience, an encounter that continually drove him. No matter what came against him, chains, prison, shipwrecks, abandonment, nothing would stop him. Nothing would stop him because he burned with a passion for Jesus.
I saw a woman in the mall who was pregnant. Her friend, custodian at the mall, approached her and asked, "do you want a cigarette?" The pregnant woman obviously refused the offer to which the custodian replied, "it's okay, they're lights." I was shocked. This pregnant lady apparently had maintained a lifestyle of smoking, but something had happened to her that altered her. Something happened to her that changed values and behavior. She had life inside of her.
It's time the church figures out we have the life of Christ inside of us! We should take care of the life we have. Chains, prison, abandonment, nothing would stop Paul. The new life in the pregnant woman changed everything about her. What is in us that we're passionate about?
The word passion comes from the Latin "patis" which means, "to suffer." This definition is considered obsolete, because we no longer understand or value suffering. To passion is to suffer. It's an intense driving or overmastering feeling or conviction, an ardent affection, a strong liking, desire for, or a devotion to some activity, object or concept.
Have you ever met a hockey player? These guys suffer. Excluding the one I met, these guys have no teeth. They struggle and strain for hours, practicing and perfecting their skills for the shot at a championship. Something will drive them to pursue a game.
I came from Pensacola, Florida. It's rated to have the 3rd nicest white sand beaches in the world, and is among the top areas world wide for shark population. Another thing Pensacola is known for is surfing. Have you ever heard of this sport? You get in the water, the water that is populated with sharks. Sharks. Big fish that want to eat you. You get on a little stick, and start swimming around. Then you stand on the stick. It's crazy, but people love it. I met a surfer who had lost one arm to a shark, but still had his short board in the other.
What do you passion for? For the thrill of one wave, the surfer will give everything; even their bodies. Athletes will starve themselves, and strain themselves, pressing toward a trophy or championship; that thrill of victory. Yet the church remains by and large prayerless. It's a struggle for the people of God to get into the word. The love for our Savior has been traded for the love of being seen serving him, or the love of just making it out of hell, only to become lackadaisical and stagnant in our pursuit of Him.
Passion can't be judged on the outside. Loud and demonstrative has often been misconstrued with Passionate. Passion is based on devotion and not emotion. Passion is burning, and refusing to be quenched. It's time to base our faith on devotion. To say, "no matter what the situation, I refuse to be quenched. I refuse to give up." What's your passion?
If we don't burn for the presence of God, then the church fails to be a church and distorts into a social club or support group. It's a nice safe place to meet nice safe people. Church is not a hobby. God will not be put in the same bucket as your golf clubs or model airplanes. There is a God in heaven that passionately loves his people and we in response passionately pursue Him with everything that we've got. He's not asking for most of you. He wants all of you. 99% obedience is disobedience. We long to be the people who are 100% devoted to Him.
Bruce Wilkerson said, "if you set your heart to pray, God will come and start to share His heart with you. He's going to open up His heart. And I'll tell you, there's pain in His heart." In our cities and our schools, in our stores and shops, you find people who can't afford toothpaste. I met a kid who struggles to believe if Florida is real, because he's never seen it. What are we supposed to say, "Jesus loves you?" How does that help if we don't burn with that love so he can see it? Do we burn for the Presence of God?
Hebrews 11:32-38
What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, they were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-
Of whom the world was not worthy…
That phrase kills me. I think we've walked worthy of the world long enough.
It's time we started walking by Faith.
It's time we started walking in Passion.
It's time we started walking with Jesus.
The world just isn't worthy of that kind of life.
What are you going to give yourself to? We're all looking for something to live for… Something to die for... Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
This is our great example. At the right hand of God sits a Jesus who took all of the scorn and shame of an entire nation. He was beaten, bruised, sneered at, spit on, cussed out, and never caved in. He took the cross, and all of the pain… and passioned.
Everything is found in the presence of Jesus. We're complete in Him.
Don't put a lid on your Passion. Passion is like a fire, if you stifle it, if you close it up, it will flicker and die. It will run out and wither. You're left with just a candle. Many Christians are like this. They still come to church day in and day out, week in and week out for years and they've lost their fire. They have no burning. No fight. It's time to look inside and ask ourselves, do we burn? When was the last time you were uncomfortable in your Christianity? When we weren't being driven by the Christian industry, or the family friendly Christian media but gripped with the mandate of God.
Many Christians hear the phrase "walk by faith, and not by sight" and they think… "Look God, No Eyes." Faith is more than just walking blind. Consider Peter in the boat. Jesus is walking on the water, and Peter sees it with his own eyes. Jesus shouldn't be out there. Peter sees the boat, he sees the water, he sees Jesus on the water, and he trusts Jesus more than the situation. What is there in our lives that looks impossible… not just impossible but stupid impossible. God calls us saying, "come be with Me in the impossibility of life. Watch what I can do."
You plant a tree in the dirt. It's messy and dirty in the dirt. Often the church wants a sterile pretty environment with not dirt. No mess. You plant a rosebud in the dirt and it's just a stump. It doesn't look good or smell good. It's just a stick, in the ground. But life happens, and it grows, producing a beautiful rose. What happens then, is someone takes it, and cuts it from the bud… from the life… and puts it in a flower shop. If you were to walk into any flower shop in your town, you would see a lot of really pretty, perfectly pungent, dead flowers. They are no longer connected to life. Are we like the rose in the shop with no life and some showy flowers, or are we connected to Him, in the mess of life?
Some of us are just a bud in the dirt. We're just starting out, down in the mess of life. Our temptation is to look up at the beautiful rose in the flower shop and think, "I'll never measure up to that beautiful rose." "I'll never be the kind of worshipper as Pastor So-and-So. I'll never be as filled with the spirit as Sister Hoot'nHoller. We judge our insides by their outside. And when we do that, we'll always fail.
If this is just a social club, we're wasting our time. If Jesus didn't come and die on the cross, God didn't send the Holy Spirit, this is all just a game, then we're still in our sins, our faith is in vain, and we might as well be in Hell! But if God did everything the Bible claims, then we can put our faith in a God who can turn things around for us. He can change your heart, your neighbor's hear, your family member's heart. He can change this city.
It's time we started getting real about some things. It's so easy to be so plastic with our Christianity. We get caught up so quickly in pleasing people that we start to put on a mask and front like everything is all right. But the fire of God will come and melt away all the fakeness, the pretense that we love to put on who we are. This is why so many don't want to handle the fire of God. It will take away all of the comfortable false security that we build around ourselves. It's time to get honest with God.
It's funny how when we're honest and repentant with God, He begins to change our hearts. It happens everywhere in the psalms. David's in the middle of despair, mad at everyone, all his enemies are against him, even God sometimes, yet by the end of the Psalm he's confessing his undying trust and faith in God.
A trust in God that comes in the midst of impossible circumstances.
A trust in the midst of pain.
A trust in the midst of suffering.
A passion.
What do you passion?
What do you burn for?
If it's something other than God, we are in idolatry. The church has a knack for doing this. They will give their passion and love to the gifts of God (be it ministers, or ministry, principles, strategies or the blessed Christian industry), rather than the God who gives them! This should not be. Let's get it out of our system. Let us burn again for God in heaven. Let's burn for Jesus. Coming away from the rest, let's come to Him and petition heaven for a passion that is unquenchable.
If you would like to see previous transcripts or hear audio available you can find them here.:
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