It Is Well With My Soul

Mk 14:32-42 My soul is overwhelmed to the point of death.

How to help your soul:

1. Admit that you are overwhelmed. v34

2. Acknowledge the source that is overwhelming you. v34

3. Appeal to God for help, PRAY. v35. Honestly, trust, submission/relief.

Jesus brought his closest friends with him, and was open with them about what he was feeling.

v41-42 Jesus was calm now with the power and love of God and the Holy Spirit

Mt 11:28-29 Come to the Lord with our burdens

The Great Commission Sermon Points

Matthew 28:18-20 – “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Commission - an instruction, command, or duty given to a person or group of people.

IT’S BIGGER THAN YOU!

What we value determines what we do.

Matthew 28:18 – “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

Matthew 28:19-20a – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…”

Disciple - a follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher.

Matthew 28:19 – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

Matthew 28:19 – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Matthew 28:20a – “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Why do we make disciples?

Because Jesus commands it

1 John 5:3-4 – “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.”

Because it has eternal significance.

1 Peter 2:12 – “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

Because there are people headed for hell.

Matthew 7:13-14 – “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

Because there is great blessing and growth.

Matthew 28:20b – “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Become a disciple

We Worship With Reckless Abandon Because We've Been Radically Saved

Mt 26:6-13, Mk 14, Jn 12

1. Worship is expensive and costly. Mt 26:7

2. Worship is the logical response for a changed life. Mt 26:6; Jn 12:2; 2 Cor 5:21

3. Worship will make some uncomfortable. Mt 26:8

4. Worship comes first. Mt 26:11. All of the other things we do must flow out of worship.

5. Worship honors Jesus. Mt 26:10, 12-13

Matthew 20:20-28

It's not about you. It's all about Him. Col 1:15-17; 2 Cor 5:15

We are spiritual contributors, not spiritual consumers. Often it becomes about getting something from Jesus, instead of being more like Jesus.

1. Lean into the one who first served you, Jesus. Be in the Word regularly. Surround yourself with those who love Jesus. Mt 20:26-28; Phil 2:5-7.

2. Jump in and start using your gifts. 1 Pet 4:10; Phil 2:9-11.

The Heart

Mt 15:1-9 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”  Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?  For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’  and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’  But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’  they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.  You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:   “ ‘These people honor me with their lips,  but their hearts are far from me.   They worship me in vain;  their teachings are merely human rules.’   ”

-Their motives were not pure

Heart - that part of us where our emotions and desires dwell. Gen 6:5; Jer 17:9; Prov 28:26a; Mt 15:18-19. 

Our Creator cares about what we do, but more about the how and why we do it.

Three areas of struggle for our heart motivation (what drives us):

1. Status, success, approval. Mt 6:1

2. Selfishness: we give to get (why do I pray?) Jas 4:3; to make ourselves feel better Gal 6:1a

3. Security (we don't want to mess it up with God). Rom 5:1

What we should be motivated by: seek to honor God by pointing others to Jesus.

1. Guard your heart. Prov 4:23

2. Get into God's Word regularly. Heb 4:12-13

3. Put God first. Jas 4:8-9

4. Be honest with God. Ps 139:19-24

Convinced: God Works for our Good

Romans 8:26-30 Sermon Points

The more we reaffirm who we are in the Christ, the more our lives reflect our true identity.

The Spirit of God seals who we are in God. We are God's children, adopted into His family.

Romans 8:26 – ““In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

Romans 8:28 - “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose.”

To Know = ironclad certainty, convinced

In every situation, good and bad. Christians, those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28 - “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose.”

Good/Blessing = anything that draws us closer into the heart of God, the presence of the Holy Spirit and thus makes us look more like Jesus.

Romans 8:29 - “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

There is no greater good than to be like Jesus Christ!

Romans 8:30 - And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

Convinced: If God is for us

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8: 31 NIV)
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Question 1: If God is for us, who can be against us?

No one out thing can take us down when God is for us.

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 NIV)
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“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 NIV)
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“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” ( Psalms 19:1 NIV)
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“Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.” (Psalm 19:2 NIV)
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“David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.” (1 Chronicles 29:10-12 NIV)
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““To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40: 25-26 NIV)
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“Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” (Isiah 46: 9-10 NIV)
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“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalms 139: 13-14 NIV)
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“But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”” (Exodus 33: 20-23 NIV)
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“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.” (Exodus 34: 29 NIV)
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Question 2: How will he not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?

“He 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?” (Romans 8: 32 NIV)
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Question 3: Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? Who will condemn you?

“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.” (Romans 8:33 NIV)
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“Who then is the one who condemns? No one. 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.” (Romans 8: 34 NIV)
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“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2: 13-14 NIV)
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Question 4: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” (Romans 8: 35 NIV)
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“As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”” (Romans 8:36 NIV)
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“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 37-39 NIV)