Purpose: the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.
Psalm 86:9
All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name.
Romans 15:6
That together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 15:4
Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.
These and many other Scriptures make it plain that the purpose of all human beings is to glorify God.
How do we glorify God?
All of nature except humans glorify God naturally.
Birds glorify God by singing.
Flowers glorify God by blooming.
Fruit trees glorify God by producing fruit.
The sun glorifies God by shine and giving light and warmth.
We as humans are to glorify God by being who God created us to be. We do need to remember that we are each created uniquely. No two human beings are exactly alike and so we glorify God by being the unique creation that God made us to be.
In John 12 there is a great example of this truth in the person of Andrew.
John 12:20-21
Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
Some people had come to celebrate the Passover and they heard about Jesus. They come to Philip and ask him to arrange a meeting with Jesus.
Sounds like a simple request. But Philip does an interesting thing.
John 12:22
Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Why did Philip go and get Andrew?
In John 1:40-41 we are told that Andrew encounters Jesus and the first thing he does is go and get his brother Peter and bring him to Jesus.
In John 6 Jesus feeds five thousand people. He does it with five barley loaves and two fish. Jesus got the bread and fish from a boy that Andrew brought to Him.
Philip went to Andrew because Andrew took things to Jesus. And the things he took to Jesus, Jesus used to accomplish the Father’s will. Andrew glorified the Father.
Jesus took Peter and used him to change the world.
Jesus took the bread and fish and fed over five thousand people.
Jesus took the Greeks and shared some awesome truth with the crowd.
Jesus tells us in John 12:24 that unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Jesus then connects the seed being planted with our willingness to lose our lives for His sake.
John 12:25-26
Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
If my life is focused on glorifying Jesus and not focused on me then I will experience eternal life. If I am going to serve Jesus, I have to follow Him. Following Jesus means I will be where Jesus is, doing what Jesus is doing. The Father will honor Jesus’ servants.
When we glorify God by fulfilling His purpose for us it also results in three things:
Honor to God
Growth of God’s Kingdom
Benefit for us
Andrew glorified God by bringing whatever came into his life to Jesus.
The driving force our lives is meant to be bringing glory to God by being who He created us to be.
We have to ask the question: What is the driving force of my life?
Many people are driven by guilt. (This is one the church has unfortunately used.)
Many people are driven by resentment and anger.
Many people are driven by fear.
Many people are driven by materialism.
Many people are driven by the need for approval.
All those driving forces are negative and they lead to living lives of defeat and desperation.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is making glorifying God the driving force of your life.
There are great benefits to letting this be the driving force of your life.
When glorifying God is the driving force of your life, your life has meaning.
This is an eternal purpose. If life is driven by guilt or anger or fear then, when those feelings go away, so does what drives your life.
Glorifying God gives life eternal meaning.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing your life has an eternal purpose.
Knowing your purpose will simplify your life.
When I know my purpose, my driving force, I can then evaluate what is essential and what is not.
If I am driven by the need for approval of others, I am constantly having to figure out want “they” want me to do. I have no clue as to what is really essential.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about life being simpler.
Having glorifying God as the driving force of your life allows you to focus your life.
I know that multitasking is encouraged by our culture, but Jesus was focused. He was singled minded in who He was and what He came to do.
John 8:28
Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own authority, but speak just as the Father taught Me.”
Jesus was not directed by anything but what the Father wanted. it freed Him to live a focused life.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living a life focused on Jesus.
When we have glorying God as our driving force, it motivates us to live life with godly passion.
If fear or anger or guilt is my driving force, I am going to very reluctantly do anything because all my motivation is negative.
When glorify God is my motivation, then I can passionately pursue God and His kingdom.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is passionately pursuing God and His kingdom.
God has created all of us differently, but He has wired each of us in our own unique way to glorify Him.
We don’t have to do it like anyone else.
God created Andrew to be Andrew and to glorify Him by bring people to Jesus.
God created you to glorify Him just like you are.
SO DO IT!
Uniquely Glorifying Jesus by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Being a Risk Taker
I am not by nature a risk taker. But I am beginning to let God break down some of the fears I have lived with over the years and free me to risk for Him.
There are many risk takers in the Bible, but one of my favorites is found in John 12.
Jesus is at a dinner party in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper. While Jesus was eating His meal, Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, came with an alabaster flask of ointment made of pure nard and anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair.
She was criticized by Jesus’ own followers for “wasting” something that could have been used to help the poor.
Jesus comes to her defense. He says, “Leave her alone. It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of My burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have Me.”
Jesus is saying that Mary had the right focus: Jesus. Helping the poor was important, but Jesus is more important.
Mary was a risk taker.
What does it take to be a risk taker?
It takes courage.
In the Jewish culture women were not considered very important. In the John 12 passage the other woman mentioned was Mary’s sister Martha. She was serving. Serving was the proper position for the women of that time.
Mary chose to do something that was not accepted by her culture.
In the first chapter of Joshua, God tells Joshua four times to be courageous.
God knew that leading the people of Israel into a land where they would have to fight was a big risk. He knew that, for Joshua to take the risk, he would need to be courageous. So, God commands him to be courageous and in commanding him to be courageous, God empowers him with courage.
God never commands us to do something or be something that He is not the source for us to fulfill the command.
In Joshua 10 Joshua and the Israelites defeat a coalition of five kings. In verse 25 Joshua says, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”
Joshua had been empowered by God to have courage and now he was helping his people to experience that same godly courage.
Many define courage as not being afraid, but courage is trusting God more than you fear something.
It is living based on the truth on 1 John 4:4: Greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being a courageous risk taker.
It takes confidence in God.
Being a risk taker is not about confidence in yourself. It is not thinking that you can do anything.
Being a risk taker is about believing that you can do anything that God tells you to do.
Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
It does not say I can do:
What I have the training and education to do
What I am good at
What I enjoy
It does not say I can do:
Many things
Most things
All put a few things
All but one thing
It says I can do ALL, not in my ability, but through HIM who gives me strength.
Paul says a similar thing in Philippians 2:13. He says, “God is the one who enables you both to want and to actually live out His good purposes.”
We don’t have to come up with what God wants us to do; He will.
We don’t have to come up with how God wants us to do it; He will.
We don’t have to come up with the power or ability to do it; He will.
We have to listen, trust , and obey. All based not on confidence in ourselves but in Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being a confident risk taker.
It takes humility.
When Mary came, in she didn’t make a big production out of what she was doing. She didn’t anoint Jesus’ head, she anointed His feet. For Mary to anoint Jesus’ feet she would have to bow down. Bowing down is an indication of humility.
Being humble is not condemning yourself.
Being humble is not seeing yourself as worthless.
Those ideas come from Satan, not Jesus.
Jesus sees us as so valuable and worthwhile that He died on the cross for us.
Being humble means I see myself in the proper position in relationship to Jesus.
1 Peter 5:6-7
Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
Look at the process here in this passage.
I humble my self under God’s authority.
God, at the time He chooses, exalts me. (He can exalt me because I am humble. If I am not humbled, God cannot exalt me because I have already exalted myself)
I cast all my cares on Him.
He cares for me.
The all-power, all-know, all-loving, ever-present God of all creation says, “If you will surrender your life over to me I will exalt you and take all your worries on me because I love you.”
This is a no brainier! And the answer is YES!
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being a humble risk taker.
It takes making Jesus everything.
When we risk for Jesus, others will criticize us.
Sometimes that criticism will be, as in Mary’s case, verbal.
Sometimes risking for Jesus will bring physical persecution and even death.
Just recently I faced a situation that, by doing what God had directed me to do, I could have been detained in jail. The possibility was small, but still a possibility. I asked myself, “Is it worth it?” It made me very much appreciate our brothers and sisters in the persecuted church and determine to increase my praying for them.
Criticism, mocking, persecution or death are not things we seek or rush into.
The criticism of the disciples was that the perfume could have been turned into money to help the poor. Helping the poor is important. Jesus commands us to help the poor.
Jesus is teaching His disciples something that is huge. It is huge for followers of Jesus who minister in any form. The ministry is never to be more important than the One whose name we do the ministry in - Jesus.
Life and ministry are about Jesus.
We don’t minister based on the needs of people; we minister based on what Jesus wants us to do. It is not about human need; it is about God’s will.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being a Jesus focused risk taker.
I want to share the lyrics of one of my favorite songs. It is Alabaster by Rend Collective Experiment.
Being a Risk Taker for Jesus Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
There are many risk takers in the Bible, but one of my favorites is found in John 12.
Jesus is at a dinner party in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper. While Jesus was eating His meal, Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, came with an alabaster flask of ointment made of pure nard and anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair.
She was criticized by Jesus’ own followers for “wasting” something that could have been used to help the poor.
Jesus comes to her defense. He says, “Leave her alone. It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of My burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have Me.”
Jesus is saying that Mary had the right focus: Jesus. Helping the poor was important, but Jesus is more important.
Mary was a risk taker.
What does it take to be a risk taker?
It takes courage.
In the Jewish culture women were not considered very important. In the John 12 passage the other woman mentioned was Mary’s sister Martha. She was serving. Serving was the proper position for the women of that time.
Mary chose to do something that was not accepted by her culture.
In the first chapter of Joshua, God tells Joshua four times to be courageous.
God knew that leading the people of Israel into a land where they would have to fight was a big risk. He knew that, for Joshua to take the risk, he would need to be courageous. So, God commands him to be courageous and in commanding him to be courageous, God empowers him with courage.
God never commands us to do something or be something that He is not the source for us to fulfill the command.
In Joshua 10 Joshua and the Israelites defeat a coalition of five kings. In verse 25 Joshua says, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”
Joshua had been empowered by God to have courage and now he was helping his people to experience that same godly courage.
Many define courage as not being afraid, but courage is trusting God more than you fear something.
It is living based on the truth on 1 John 4:4: Greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being a courageous risk taker.
It takes confidence in God.
Being a risk taker is not about confidence in yourself. It is not thinking that you can do anything.
Being a risk taker is about believing that you can do anything that God tells you to do.
Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
It does not say I can do:
What I have the training and education to do
What I am good at
What I enjoy
It does not say I can do:
Many things
Most things
All put a few things
All but one thing
It says I can do ALL, not in my ability, but through HIM who gives me strength.
Paul says a similar thing in Philippians 2:13. He says, “God is the one who enables you both to want and to actually live out His good purposes.”
We don’t have to come up with what God wants us to do; He will.
We don’t have to come up with how God wants us to do it; He will.
We don’t have to come up with the power or ability to do it; He will.
We have to listen, trust , and obey. All based not on confidence in ourselves but in Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being a confident risk taker.
It takes humility.
When Mary came, in she didn’t make a big production out of what she was doing. She didn’t anoint Jesus’ head, she anointed His feet. For Mary to anoint Jesus’ feet she would have to bow down. Bowing down is an indication of humility.
Being humble is not condemning yourself.
Being humble is not seeing yourself as worthless.
Those ideas come from Satan, not Jesus.
Jesus sees us as so valuable and worthwhile that He died on the cross for us.
Being humble means I see myself in the proper position in relationship to Jesus.
1 Peter 5:6-7
Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
Look at the process here in this passage.
I humble my self under God’s authority.
God, at the time He chooses, exalts me. (He can exalt me because I am humble. If I am not humbled, God cannot exalt me because I have already exalted myself)
I cast all my cares on Him.
He cares for me.
The all-power, all-know, all-loving, ever-present God of all creation says, “If you will surrender your life over to me I will exalt you and take all your worries on me because I love you.”
This is a no brainier! And the answer is YES!
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being a humble risk taker.
It takes making Jesus everything.
When we risk for Jesus, others will criticize us.
Sometimes that criticism will be, as in Mary’s case, verbal.
Sometimes risking for Jesus will bring physical persecution and even death.
Just recently I faced a situation that, by doing what God had directed me to do, I could have been detained in jail. The possibility was small, but still a possibility. I asked myself, “Is it worth it?” It made me very much appreciate our brothers and sisters in the persecuted church and determine to increase my praying for them.
Criticism, mocking, persecution or death are not things we seek or rush into.
The criticism of the disciples was that the perfume could have been turned into money to help the poor. Helping the poor is important. Jesus commands us to help the poor.
Jesus is teaching His disciples something that is huge. It is huge for followers of Jesus who minister in any form. The ministry is never to be more important than the One whose name we do the ministry in - Jesus.
Life and ministry are about Jesus.
We don’t minister based on the needs of people; we minister based on what Jesus wants us to do. It is not about human need; it is about God’s will.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being a Jesus focused risk taker.
I want to share the lyrics of one of my favorite songs. It is Alabaster by Rend Collective Experiment.
I am broken at your feet
Like an alabaster jar
Every piece of who I am
Laid before Your majesty
I will bow my life
At Your feet
At Your feet
My lips
So lost for words
Will kiss Your feet
Kiss Your feet
Oh the gravity of You
Draws my soul unto it knees
I will never be the same
I am lost and found in You
I will bow my life
At Your feet
At Your feet
My lips
So lost for words
Will kiss Your feet
Kiss Your feet
Being a Risk Taker for Jesus Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Jesus Teaches Us Truth Through Death
Death: the permanent cessation of vital physical functions
In John 11 Lazarus dies. He didn’t pass out or go into a coma. He was not misdiagnosed. He DIED!
If you don’t believe that Lazarus died, then you will miss God’s truths in John 11.
John 11:4
But when Jesus heard it He said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Truth #1: It is about trusting Jesus.
Lazarus did die, but Jesus knew and trusted the plan that the Father had.
The ultimate result of Lazarus’ illness, death, and resurrection was for Jesus to be glorified. The Father’s plan was for Jesus to be glorified by Lazarus experience of all three: sickness, death, and resurrection.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is trusting Jesus and His plan.
John 11:5-6
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that Lazarus was ill, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was.
Truth #2: Jesus’ timing is always perfect.
Many times in our desire to do for God, we try to help Him out and we want to rush things.
In the book of Psalms we are told thirteen times to wait on God.
God never tells us to do for Him. He tells us to do with Him. When I do with God, I let Him lead and set the pace and the timing.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is letting God set the time for everything.
John 11:16
So Thomas called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go, that we may die with Him.”
Truth #3: We are to follow Jesus.
It is one thing to follow Jesus when we think that everything is going to successful, fun, and comfortable. It is another level of faith when by following Jesus you think you will die.
According to Luke 9:23 following Jesus means exactly that - You Will Die.
We are to take up our cross daily. The cross is not a piece of jewelry or a decoration for the wall. The cross is a place to die.
Following Jesus means we are to die to self daily.
John 11:21
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
John 11:32
Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Truth #4: Jesus gives us the unexpected.
Martha and Mary were not necessarily blaming Jesus. They were actually expressing great faith in Jesus and His power to heal.
But Jesus had a much greater plan that He tells Martha about in John 11:23. Jesus says, “Your brother will rise again.”
According to Ephesians 3:20 Jesus can do far more than we can ask or think.
Jesus gives us unexpected blessings.
Martha and Mary didn’t know that Jesus could bring people back to life. They had never experienced that from Jesus.
Jesus is willing to do more than we can even imagine.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is having faith in Jesus to do the unexpected.
John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Truth #5: Jesus is life, physical and eternal.
Death for us as human beings is inevitable. We can prolong life but we can not defeat death.
Jesus has overcome death. He died on the cross and three days later He was alive.
The reality is that without Jesus we have no life. So, if you want to really live, yield your life to Jesus as your source of life.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living with Jesus as your life.
John 11:38-39
Then Jesus deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”
Truth #6: Jesus will lead us into uncomfortable situations.
Many people believe that to follow Jesus means:
An easy life
Comfortable situations
No difficult circumstances
Following Jesus means going into the heart of the enemy’s camp.
Following Jesus means going against the cultural values of the day.
Following Jesus means risking everything.
Following Jesus means we are going to be uncomfortable at times.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing Jesus to move us out of our comfort zone.
John 11:41-42
So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
Truth #7: Following Jesus means acknowledging the power of God before we see or experience it.
Jesus prays to the Father and He already knows that the Father has heard Him. And He already knows that the Father is going to answer. And He already knows what He is going to do and the results. In spite of knowing all these already, Jesus out loud thanks the Father.
Jesus wanted the crowd to know that He was depending on and honoring God the Father.
Following Jesus is about giving honor to the Father on a continual basis. It is not talking about luck or fate. It is talking about faith in God to do the impossible. It is about living not based on what we can do but on what the Father can and will do.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is out loud, in front of everyone acknowledging the greatness of God.
John 11:43-44
When He had said these things, He cried, out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Truth #8: Jesus calls us to be partners with Him in life and ministry.
Jesus could have gone over and removed the wrappings from Lazarus. He chose to involve other people in unbinding Lazarus and giving him complete freedom.
Jesus has chosen human being to be His partners in sharing the Good News with all the world. Just as Jesus chose the twelve, He has chosen you and me to testify to the gospel of God’s grace to the world.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being Jesus’ partner in telling people the Good News of God’s grace.
Just as in other things, the people who experience the work of Jesus had a choice about how they responded.
John 11:45
Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what He did, believed in Him.
Some believed and surrendered their lives to Jesus.
John 11:46
But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
Others rejected Jesus even after the awesome miracle and went and tattled on Him to the Pharisees.
We must choose to believe and surrender to Jesus or to not believe and reject Jesus. There is no middle ground.
Following Jesus to Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls
Joe
In John 11 Lazarus dies. He didn’t pass out or go into a coma. He was not misdiagnosed. He DIED!
If you don’t believe that Lazarus died, then you will miss God’s truths in John 11.
John 11:4
But when Jesus heard it He said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Truth #1: It is about trusting Jesus.
Lazarus did die, but Jesus knew and trusted the plan that the Father had.
The ultimate result of Lazarus’ illness, death, and resurrection was for Jesus to be glorified. The Father’s plan was for Jesus to be glorified by Lazarus experience of all three: sickness, death, and resurrection.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is trusting Jesus and His plan.
John 11:5-6
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that Lazarus was ill, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was.
Truth #2: Jesus’ timing is always perfect.
Many times in our desire to do for God, we try to help Him out and we want to rush things.
In the book of Psalms we are told thirteen times to wait on God.
God never tells us to do for Him. He tells us to do with Him. When I do with God, I let Him lead and set the pace and the timing.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is letting God set the time for everything.
John 11:16
So Thomas called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go, that we may die with Him.”
Truth #3: We are to follow Jesus.
It is one thing to follow Jesus when we think that everything is going to successful, fun, and comfortable. It is another level of faith when by following Jesus you think you will die.
According to Luke 9:23 following Jesus means exactly that - You Will Die.
We are to take up our cross daily. The cross is not a piece of jewelry or a decoration for the wall. The cross is a place to die.
Following Jesus means we are to die to self daily.
John 11:21
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
John 11:32
Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Truth #4: Jesus gives us the unexpected.
Martha and Mary were not necessarily blaming Jesus. They were actually expressing great faith in Jesus and His power to heal.
But Jesus had a much greater plan that He tells Martha about in John 11:23. Jesus says, “Your brother will rise again.”
According to Ephesians 3:20 Jesus can do far more than we can ask or think.
Jesus gives us unexpected blessings.
Martha and Mary didn’t know that Jesus could bring people back to life. They had never experienced that from Jesus.
Jesus is willing to do more than we can even imagine.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is having faith in Jesus to do the unexpected.
John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Truth #5: Jesus is life, physical and eternal.
Death for us as human beings is inevitable. We can prolong life but we can not defeat death.
Jesus has overcome death. He died on the cross and three days later He was alive.
The reality is that without Jesus we have no life. So, if you want to really live, yield your life to Jesus as your source of life.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living with Jesus as your life.
John 11:38-39
Then Jesus deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”
Truth #6: Jesus will lead us into uncomfortable situations.
Many people believe that to follow Jesus means:
An easy life
Comfortable situations
No difficult circumstances
Following Jesus means going into the heart of the enemy’s camp.
Following Jesus means going against the cultural values of the day.
Following Jesus means risking everything.
Following Jesus means we are going to be uncomfortable at times.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing Jesus to move us out of our comfort zone.
John 11:41-42
So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
Truth #7: Following Jesus means acknowledging the power of God before we see or experience it.
Jesus prays to the Father and He already knows that the Father has heard Him. And He already knows that the Father is going to answer. And He already knows what He is going to do and the results. In spite of knowing all these already, Jesus out loud thanks the Father.
Jesus wanted the crowd to know that He was depending on and honoring God the Father.
Following Jesus is about giving honor to the Father on a continual basis. It is not talking about luck or fate. It is talking about faith in God to do the impossible. It is about living not based on what we can do but on what the Father can and will do.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is out loud, in front of everyone acknowledging the greatness of God.
John 11:43-44
When He had said these things, He cried, out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Truth #8: Jesus calls us to be partners with Him in life and ministry.
Jesus could have gone over and removed the wrappings from Lazarus. He chose to involve other people in unbinding Lazarus and giving him complete freedom.
Jesus has chosen human being to be His partners in sharing the Good News with all the world. Just as Jesus chose the twelve, He has chosen you and me to testify to the gospel of God’s grace to the world.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being Jesus’ partner in telling people the Good News of God’s grace.
Just as in other things, the people who experience the work of Jesus had a choice about how they responded.
John 11:45
Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what He did, believed in Him.
Some believed and surrendered their lives to Jesus.
John 11:46
But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
Others rejected Jesus even after the awesome miracle and went and tattled on Him to the Pharisees.
We must choose to believe and surrender to Jesus or to not believe and reject Jesus. There is no middle ground.
Following Jesus to Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls
Joe
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Basing Your Life on Truth
A lady in my faith family shared a story about a conversation that she had recently. She and a man were talking and he asked her if she believed that Jesus was really coming back like those weird Christians believed He was. She said that she believed He was because without His coming back we had no hope. She then asked him, “What is the purpose of your life?” He had no answer.
I thought about Raise the Roof and Raise the Walls. What is it’s purpose? What is it based on?
I then read John 10:22-42 and Jesus shares five truths that are what Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is based on, and what my life is based on, and what I pray that your life is based on.
The first is In John 10:36 where Jesus says that He is the Son of God.
This is one of the bases of Christianity.
In Matthew 16:13 Jesus asks the twelve who people were saying that He was.
They answered:
John the Baptist
Elijah
Jeremiah
One of the Prophets
Then in Matthew 16:15 Jesus asked who they, the twelve say He is. And in Matthew 16:16 Peter replies, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus then in Matthew 16:17 tells Peter that he is right and that it is God the Father who had revealed that to him.
Jesus acknowledges in this conversation that He is the Son of God.
In John 10 Jesus points to the works that He does that bear witness to the fact that He is the Son of God.
A second truth that Jesus shares is in John 10:30. He says, “I and the Father are one.”
When Jesus tells them this, the Jews pick up stones. They want to kill Him.
Why?
When Jesus says that He and the Father are one, He is claiming to be equal with God. In other words, Jesus is claiming that He is God.
I have had people tell me that Jesus never claimed to be God. My response is that, if you ignore the Gospels and in particular the Gospel of John, then no, Jesus never claimed to be God. But if you read the Gospels, Jesus claimed to be God and even accepted worship as God.
You have to accept that either Jesus is God and thus Lord or He is a liar or a lunatic. Jesus doesn’t give the option to accept Him as just a great human being.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is built on the truth that Jesus is The Son of God and He is, in fact, God in the flesh.
A third truth is what Jesus says in John 10:28. Jesus says that He gives to those who follow Him eternal life.
God created you for eternity.
In Ecclesiastes 3:11 it says that God has put eternity into people’s hearts.
Sin tried to destroy God’s will for us to live forever. But through Jesus’ death and resurrection we have the victory of eternal life.
There are not many ways to God; it is only through Jesus.
There are not many ways to eternal life; it is only through Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is built on the truth that Jesus is the only One who can give us eternal life.
Jesus shares a fourth truth in John 10:27. He says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
Jesus says His sheep hear His voice. We as people who have surrendered our lives to the authority of Jesus as Lord know His voice when He speaks to us.
If we can’t hear and recognize Jesus’ voice then we are in trouble at the heart of our relationship with Him.
When Jesus speaks, it will always be verified by the Bible. Jesus will never speak anything to us that is contrary to the Bible.
When Jesus speaks, it will always be verified by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will confirm it in our hearts and minds.
A key to hearing Jesus’ voice is to listen. Listening and hearing Jesus is about spending time with Him in prayer.
Prayer is not just us talking.
Prayer is also Jesus talking.
Another key to hearing Jesus’ voice is to get away from the noise of life. We are surrounded by noise and many times that noise drowns out what Jesus is saying to us. We need to get alone with Him and be quiet and listen.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is built on the truth that Jesus speaks to us as His followers and we can recognize His voice and understand what He is saying.
Jesus shares a fifth truth that we as His followers are secure in our salvation.
Finally, in John 10:28b Jesus says that no one will snatch His followers out of His hand.
Then in John 10:29 Jesus says, “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
Jesus is saying very plainly here that NOTHING can tear you away from Him once He has you.
Salvation is not based on you or me. It is based on the finished work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection.
You don’t deserve salvation.
You can’t earn salvation.
When David prays his great prayer of confession and repentance in Psalm 51, he says in verse 12, “Restore to me the joy of YOUR salvation.”
Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Since Jesus never changes and the work of salvation is complete (no more has to be done to secure it), and Jesus says that He and the Father have us in their hands and nothing can remove us, then we as followers of Jesus are secure.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is built on the truth that once we have surrendered our lives to Jesus and He has us, nothing can take us away from Him.
The truth is that we can have a relationship with God. And God loves us so much that He became one of us, God in the flesh - Jesus. Jesus, because of His love for us, gives us eternal life and He guides our lives by speaking to us. And to top it all off, He guarantees and secures our eternal life.
We again see a decision being made in relationship to Jesus.
John 10:39 says, “Again they sought to arrest Him, but He escaped their hands.”
One group rejected Jesus and wanted to get rid of Him.
Then John 10:42 says, “And many believed in Him there.”
Another group put their faith in Jesus and gave Him their lives.
Jesus will always make us decide to believe and follow or to reject and walk away.
With Jesus The Son of God Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
I thought about Raise the Roof and Raise the Walls. What is it’s purpose? What is it based on?
I then read John 10:22-42 and Jesus shares five truths that are what Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is based on, and what my life is based on, and what I pray that your life is based on.
The first is In John 10:36 where Jesus says that He is the Son of God.
This is one of the bases of Christianity.
In Matthew 16:13 Jesus asks the twelve who people were saying that He was.
They answered:
John the Baptist
Elijah
Jeremiah
One of the Prophets
Then in Matthew 16:15 Jesus asked who they, the twelve say He is. And in Matthew 16:16 Peter replies, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus then in Matthew 16:17 tells Peter that he is right and that it is God the Father who had revealed that to him.
Jesus acknowledges in this conversation that He is the Son of God.
In John 10 Jesus points to the works that He does that bear witness to the fact that He is the Son of God.
A second truth that Jesus shares is in John 10:30. He says, “I and the Father are one.”
When Jesus tells them this, the Jews pick up stones. They want to kill Him.
Why?
When Jesus says that He and the Father are one, He is claiming to be equal with God. In other words, Jesus is claiming that He is God.
I have had people tell me that Jesus never claimed to be God. My response is that, if you ignore the Gospels and in particular the Gospel of John, then no, Jesus never claimed to be God. But if you read the Gospels, Jesus claimed to be God and even accepted worship as God.
You have to accept that either Jesus is God and thus Lord or He is a liar or a lunatic. Jesus doesn’t give the option to accept Him as just a great human being.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is built on the truth that Jesus is The Son of God and He is, in fact, God in the flesh.
A third truth is what Jesus says in John 10:28. Jesus says that He gives to those who follow Him eternal life.
God created you for eternity.
In Ecclesiastes 3:11 it says that God has put eternity into people’s hearts.
Sin tried to destroy God’s will for us to live forever. But through Jesus’ death and resurrection we have the victory of eternal life.
There are not many ways to God; it is only through Jesus.
There are not many ways to eternal life; it is only through Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is built on the truth that Jesus is the only One who can give us eternal life.
Jesus shares a fourth truth in John 10:27. He says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
Jesus says His sheep hear His voice. We as people who have surrendered our lives to the authority of Jesus as Lord know His voice when He speaks to us.
If we can’t hear and recognize Jesus’ voice then we are in trouble at the heart of our relationship with Him.
When Jesus speaks, it will always be verified by the Bible. Jesus will never speak anything to us that is contrary to the Bible.
When Jesus speaks, it will always be verified by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will confirm it in our hearts and minds.
A key to hearing Jesus’ voice is to listen. Listening and hearing Jesus is about spending time with Him in prayer.
Prayer is not just us talking.
Prayer is also Jesus talking.
Another key to hearing Jesus’ voice is to get away from the noise of life. We are surrounded by noise and many times that noise drowns out what Jesus is saying to us. We need to get alone with Him and be quiet and listen.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is built on the truth that Jesus speaks to us as His followers and we can recognize His voice and understand what He is saying.
Jesus shares a fifth truth that we as His followers are secure in our salvation.
Finally, in John 10:28b Jesus says that no one will snatch His followers out of His hand.
Then in John 10:29 Jesus says, “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
Jesus is saying very plainly here that NOTHING can tear you away from Him once He has you.
Salvation is not based on you or me. It is based on the finished work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection.
You don’t deserve salvation.
You can’t earn salvation.
When David prays his great prayer of confession and repentance in Psalm 51, he says in verse 12, “Restore to me the joy of YOUR salvation.”
Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Since Jesus never changes and the work of salvation is complete (no more has to be done to secure it), and Jesus says that He and the Father have us in their hands and nothing can remove us, then we as followers of Jesus are secure.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is built on the truth that once we have surrendered our lives to Jesus and He has us, nothing can take us away from Him.
The truth is that we can have a relationship with God. And God loves us so much that He became one of us, God in the flesh - Jesus. Jesus, because of His love for us, gives us eternal life and He guides our lives by speaking to us. And to top it all off, He guarantees and secures our eternal life.
We again see a decision being made in relationship to Jesus.
John 10:39 says, “Again they sought to arrest Him, but He escaped their hands.”
One group rejected Jesus and wanted to get rid of Him.
Then John 10:42 says, “And many believed in Him there.”
Another group put their faith in Jesus and gave Him their lives.
Jesus will always make us decide to believe and follow or to reject and walk away.
With Jesus The Son of God Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
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