Forest Hill Church | Ephesians: Church Beyond the Building
Please click on the link above to hear a sermon about "Who the Church is meant to be for Christ & How we are to walk out the wealth of what Christ has done."
If you don't have 40 minutes to watch the whole thing, please go to the section at time marker 17:41 to 21:08 and hear what Jonathan Scott says about the Bible being essential to our lives.
Notes:
The Bible is the intention and heart of Christ Himself. The source of scripture is God Himself.
"You can not call yourself a Christian, if you believe the Bible to be optional for your life. You can not call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ if this book (Bible) is left up to you to pick and choose what you want. As if somehow this book is nice and good but not really practical, not really applicable, not really representative of what's going on in your life."
Jonathan Scott
Misunderstood
Do you ever feel like there is so much more to you then what others know? Do you feel misunderstood?
Jesus was misunderstood too. People thought he was given power from Satan, that he was a liar, that he was suppose to be a King that ruled the world but instead was defeated. Here is another scenario;
John 11:43-53 "Then Jesus shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him go!" Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. "What are we going to do?" they asked each other. "This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. If we allow Him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in Him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation." Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time, said, "You don't know what you're talking about! You don't realize that it's better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed." He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world. So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus' death."
Here was Jesus, doing the will of his Father and bringing the dead back to life. The Pharisees were threatened by this and didn't want people following Christ. So Caiaphas started a plan to kill Jesus. However, God was still in control executing His plans for Jesus to save all of Gods children. Though people may have thought they were going to defeat Jesus, they were only playing a role in His victory over death and sin.
So if we happen to come across people who persecute us, slander us, or have no mercy on us, we can be confident that God is at work all the time. We just have to be obedient to His calling on our life and leave the rest up to our Heavenly Father. He sees all things, knows all things and controls all things. He is our friend and our King. Not of this world, but of the heavenly realm. People misunderstood Jesus and we will be misunderstood too. We don't need to be concerned about that. We just need to remember the truth.
John 15:18-20 "If the world hates you, remember that it hated Me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? 'A slave is not greater than the master.' Since they persecuted Me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to Me, they would listen to you."
Here are some verses to encourage you, when you feel misunderstood. Jesus said:
John 15:9-12 "I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love. When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father's commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you."
John 16:32b-33 "Yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
John 14:27 "I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid."
Lord, Help us to keep on loving and forgiving. Just as you love and forgive us. :)
Jesus was misunderstood too. People thought he was given power from Satan, that he was a liar, that he was suppose to be a King that ruled the world but instead was defeated. Here is another scenario;
John 11:43-53 "Then Jesus shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him go!" Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. "What are we going to do?" they asked each other. "This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. If we allow Him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in Him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation." Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time, said, "You don't know what you're talking about! You don't realize that it's better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed." He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world. So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus' death."
Here was Jesus, doing the will of his Father and bringing the dead back to life. The Pharisees were threatened by this and didn't want people following Christ. So Caiaphas started a plan to kill Jesus. However, God was still in control executing His plans for Jesus to save all of Gods children. Though people may have thought they were going to defeat Jesus, they were only playing a role in His victory over death and sin.
So if we happen to come across people who persecute us, slander us, or have no mercy on us, we can be confident that God is at work all the time. We just have to be obedient to His calling on our life and leave the rest up to our Heavenly Father. He sees all things, knows all things and controls all things. He is our friend and our King. Not of this world, but of the heavenly realm. People misunderstood Jesus and we will be misunderstood too. We don't need to be concerned about that. We just need to remember the truth.
John 15:18-20 "If the world hates you, remember that it hated Me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? 'A slave is not greater than the master.' Since they persecuted Me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to Me, they would listen to you."
Here are some verses to encourage you, when you feel misunderstood. Jesus said:
John 15:9-12 "I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love. When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father's commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you."
John 16:32b-33 "Yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
John 14:27 "I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid."
Lord, Help us to keep on loving and forgiving. Just as you love and forgive us. :)
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