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How can we change the world? Pt. 3 John 16:33 7 benefits of extravagant living 7️⃣ • 1. Giving makes you more like God (John 3:16) • 2. Giving draws you closer to God (Matthew 6:21) • 3. Giving releases you from the trap of uncertainty******* (1 Timothy 6:17) • 4. Giving strengthens our faith (Proverbs 3:5-9) • 5. Giving is an investment for your future (1 Timothy 6:18-19) • 6. Giving you blesses you personally (Luke 6:36), (Proverbs 22:9), (Proverbs 22:5) • 7. Giving makes you happy (Acts 20:35)

This list is a progressive list, the order is important. There's a difference between courage and reckless. Most of us default to faking being courageous. Courage is when your faith is bigger than your fear. Courage is taking your fear and conquering it! Courage is knowing who fights with/for you. 2 Timothy 1:7 Power, love and self-discipline are ingredients to give you courage. God has given us his power. Take fear out of the center of your life, and replace it with courage. Identify your fear, give it to Him, and then worship. Maximize God, minimize fear. What kinds of fears am I facing that gives me an opportunity to grow my courage?

Love has different connotations for different people. 3 different types of love, 1. Philos love, 2. Eros love, 3. Agape love. Paul says that if you have such strong faith yet you don't have love, you have nothing. If someone else succeeds, are you happy for them? Love never rejoices about injustice but rejoices when the truth wins out. Knowledge without wisdom is valueless. Grow up your love as you grow up.

Sense of security when we think about home. Creating a home in our heart for Jesus. Is Jesus welcome to our own home? How to prepare our hearts to be a home for Jesus. What kind of home do we have prepared for God right now? Matthew 1:18-25. Joseph had an opportunity to prepare a home for Jesus on the very first Christmas. Do we choose to participate in God's work? 1. Are we willing to move from "fear" to "faith"? 2. Is the home of my heart going to be rash? or reflective? Do I react? Or do I respond? 3. A maturing follower of Christ is shortening the distance between reacting and responding. 4. Is my home cowardly or courageous to what God wants me to do? Many of us fall short in our spiritual walk with Christ. 5. Is my home selfish? Or selfless? Less of myself and more of God?

If Jesus' Kingdom has the same end goals, motivations, and methods as every other Kingdom of the World, it is useless. Jesus' Kingdom isn't like ANY other Kingdom. And His Kingdom goes on forever, won't you join Him? Trust that Jesus, God in a human body, died on the cross for your sins, believe that He was buried, and that He has now been raised from the dead and He will rescue you! Call on Him to be saved from this messed up world, from your messed up mind, messed up life! He will come to you, if you'll trust in Him and stop trusting in yourself, trying to be your own god, and pushing His Way, and His Kingdom aside. God has made this Jesus, both LORD and Messiah! Recorded at Refuge TLH on Sunday, May 26, 2019.

Ephesians 5:14-17 Be careful when following the path towards Christ Apostle Paul warned us to be careful in life, he told us to be wise and to make the most out of every opportunity. If we want to be wise, we have to be careful, NOT careless! It's very easy to be distracted while walking with Christ. We miss out on many windows of opportunities that God gives us because of distractions... We must be intentional in our daily lives and to be opportunistic! Walk opportunistically towards others as well!

NOTE: Technical difficulties at the beginning of sermon. Recording starts in middle of sermon. Is God happy with YOU? Are YOU happy with YOU? 1. He desires a real/intimate relationship with YOU. 2. He wants restoration and reconcilliation with YOU.

We are God's children, and sometimes we can forget where we come from. How important the church is to us and how superior Christ is to us, these things we must remember and learn. Our church lives by the verse Matthew 5:14. in which we are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. We have a duty in which we must make disciples of all nations and to shine God's glory to all.

Successfully navigating the rest of your life. Crossing the sea. Pillar of cloud through the day and pillar of fire through the night. God's presence is with us every second of our lives wherever we go. How do I navigate my journey when the path isn't clear? 1. Do I know what is holding me captive? Unhealthy choices, destructive patterns, slave to fear, stress and anxiety? 2. Do I really trust God's direction for my life's journey? We have to commit and say, "I will not quit on you God, cause I know you won't quit on me". 3. Convenient paths aren't always healthy paths. Don't be lazy with God. 3.5. Our journey will have ancient and eternal legacy's to extend. Know that God has a plan and that it's older than you. Appreciate what God has in store for you.

Joy in Salvation Joy in Spiritual Maturity Joy in God's Presence

We can give all we have to Jesus. It is said in Matthew 11:28-29 saying, "Come to me, all you who are waery and burdened, and I will give you rest."... "for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." We give Him the full weight of all our sin. Because we give God such a burden, we must offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; as said in Romans 12:1. We give Jesus our disobedience to obey God. We are wounded and weary.

Fighting against selflessness vs. selfishness.

Successfully navigating the rest of your life. Crossing the sea. Pillar of cloud through the day and pillar of fire through the night. God's presence is with us every second of our lives wherever we go.

3 key points to help search for our true identity. 1. Stop groaning inwardly. 2. Rely on hope. True hope comes with patience. 3. Trust in the Lord.

10 warning signs that we can't ignore while on our path towards Christ. 1. Never be lazy (laziness) 2. Avoid sexual temptation. 3. Don't ignore the repentance of our sins. 4. End unkind speech. 5. Run from youthful lust, all your desires arrive from your maturity. 6. Renounce your OWN ungodliness THEN renounce other's ungodliness. 7. Quit stealing. Instead work for the things we need in life. 8. Resist the Devil. 9. Fear the Lord (have a reverential awe and respect for the Lord). 10. Humble yourself before God (God gives grace towards the humbled). 2 Timothy 2:2. James 4:7. The easiest sins to do are the ones you haven't confessed to God about yet.

Don't be peace seekers, but instead peacemakers. Matthew 5:9

When you're not looking for something or expecting something, even if it's right in front of you, you wouldn't see it. We must recognize and choose Jesus as our savior. How do we have our vision corrected? How can we see God? How can we recognize Him and see His work? We can't see better and correct our vision by buying glasses made from human kind, or by looking harder and even working harder. God recognizes you, He doesn't just see you, He RECOGNIZES YOU!! Even when you can't recognize Him. In every circumstance and every situation, he's by your side. Luke 12:7. Psalm 56:8. As a result of loving, doing will come afterwards.

How can we change the world? John 16:33 Changing the world so it's sustainable. Passionate excellence - Relentlessly giving my very best to honor God and to serve and bless people We are drawn to Excellency We are created with excellence. We are created by an excellent God to do excellent things!! Psalm 139:14 Ephesians 2:8-10 Those who seek Him will find Him. Colossians 3:17 Ecclesiastes 9:10 Ephesians 6:7 Are people blown away from the excellence that I share with them? Does my excellence in life point people to God? Psalm 33:3 Mediocre is not of God Excellence is not an neurotic self-pursuit to perfection Excellence is doing the best you can with what you have. It's the quality NOT the quantity! Matthew 5:13-16 How will I pursue excellence at home/work/everywhere? - be committed! Focus on a 1% change. Doing what you can, with what you have, with where you are.

Forgiveness is the cornerstone for you to be happy. Believers, Christ followers, are commanded to be joyful. Joy is a choice, yet we can't choose ourself to be joyful. As a believer, you should be a thermostat, not a thermometer. Set the temperature in the room, not just be in it. 1. Identify the joy stealers in your life and don't spend time with them. 2. identify the joy bringers and spend time with them. 3. Make an "even though" decision to be joyful at all times in every scenario. 4. Rejoice over what heaven rejoices over. 5. If you want to have the joy of Jesus, then serve. Be a servant. Jesus > you. Choose before you have to decide.

We are created in God's image. There's a vacancy in the soul of man that can only be filled by God, we long for that. Home is a very important place for us. Jesus made this Earth his home. Jesus was here for 33 yeras and changed the Earth in 3 years with his ministry. Home is translated from the Bible to Tabernacle. From the book of Exodus, that's where he dwelt upon. Jesus wants Him to be our home. He dwells in us, he loves us. We're his home, the church is his home. I can't but He can. It's not "who you are", but "who's you are", who you belong to. God has made His home in us, we just have to accept Him into our hearts.

You dig the well before you get thirsty. Weakness is a direct path towards power. Overcoming is greater than deliverance. Prayer is the ultimate fellowship.

We produce rotten fruit. The fruit of the Spirit are external markers of a life surrendered to Jesus Christ. Love is courteous.