Fear is a Liar: Busyness

Lk 10:38-42
Busyness is an addiction.
Regular stillness is necessary for living the joyful life Jesus has promised us.
In the middle of joy there is no fear or anxiety. We must sit at the feet of Jesus.
1. Busyness without regular stillness can quickly distort our view of God. Busyness and anxiety are a cycle. If we're not careful, distractions become the new normal. Ps 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God..." God and Jesus modeled this for us. Get 2:2-3; Lk 5:16. Lk 10:40 Martha's distractions caused her to voice her anxious heart. The busier we become, the more intentional we must become at being still and know/remember that he is God.
2. We must get good at recognizing the difference between what is urgent and what is important. What have I made important that is not important? Learn to say no to things that aren't important. Mt 6:33 Seek God and Jesus first. Don't just operate on emotions. Give others permission to say no. v41-42 Choose what is better.
3. Service to God must not supersede worship of God. My cup needs to be filled regularly with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Mt 12:28; Jn 16:33. We are called to do less and spend more time with God.
Jer 29:13 "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Ps 46 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,  though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.  God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.  Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.  The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.  Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.  He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.  He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Fear is a Liar

2 Tim 1:7
4 types of fear:
-Fear of loss
-Fear of failure
-Fear of rejection
-Fear of the unknown
Max Lucado "Anxiety is a meteor shower of [10,000] 'what ifs'."
Fear is an emotion, not a sin. What are we going to do with the emotion of fear? Just because you have fear, fear doesn't have to have you.
1. Satan is a liar. Jn 8:44
2. Satan wants to mess you up. 1 Pet 5:7-9. You are not alone, we all struggle with different things.
3. God loves you, and that's a really good thing! Jn 3:16. God loves you so much, he laid His life down for you. Amen! Rom 8:31-39; 1 Jn 4:18
4. God is the answer to your "What ifs?" Mt 6:25-34; Ps 139:16; Ex 3:1-4:13.
5. God can be trusted. Prov 3:5-6; Ps 27:23-24, 34:4; 2 Tim 1:7

Snapshots: So What?

Heb 4:14-16
What?
Gen 1:1 "In the beginning, God" Jesus was in the beginning. Satan convinced Adam and Eve to break the one rule. We were separated from God and sin entered the world. We are born with a sin nature. Rom 3:23,6:23. Jesus sacrificed once and for all for our sin. He rose on the third day, appeared to 500 people, and ascended into heaven. 1 Cor 15:17-19
So what?
1. Jesus is better. v14 Hold on tightly to Jesus, he is better than anything or anyone else. Heb 8:1
2. Jesus understands. v15 Jesus was tested but did not sin. We have unlimited access to God through Jesus.
3. Jesus helps. v16 We can approach the throne of grace boldly because of what Jesus did for us.

Snapshots: Who is Jesus?

Mt 21:1-11
The same crowd that yelled "Hosanna," yelled "crucify him" one week later.

Who is Jesus not?
1. Jesus is not merely a superior human being. C. S. Lewis - Jesus is either Lord, Liar, or Lunatic. Liars usually crack under pressure, Jesus did not, even to the point of death on a cross. Lunatics don't speak words that pass the test of time like Jesus did. The only option is that Jesus is Lord!
2. Jesus is not a sentimental tradition. He is not something we pass down to our children. Mt 7:9,13. Sentimental Christians find comfort in tradition, but are resistant to real faith.
3. Jesus is not our spiritual "Sugar Daddy." He's not about just giving us what we want or being who we want him to be. Jn 6:26 If Jesus is only someone we turn to when we need something, we will be forever disappointed.
4. Jesus is not a superficial emotional experience. We need to have emotional intelligence, not just seek an emotional high once a week. Don't make spiritual decisions based on emotion, but based on the truth of Scripture. Jn 4:23; Eph 2:8. Don't miss the work that Christ is doing in it life because we are selling an emotional experience.
5. Jesus is not a standard that we are trying to attain. We don't have to be as good as Jesus, we can't. Rom 8 There is no condemnation in Jesus. People that believe they must attain a standard only follow Jesus out of drudgery.

Who is Jesus? Here's real, the son of the living God. The lamb of God, come to take away the sins if the world. Our Lord, Savior and friend. He is The Truth. Here's so much more than we give him credit for!

Snapshots: LOST

Lk 15
Jesus tells 3 parables (lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son) to answer the question of the Pharisees, "why does Jesus spend time with sinners?" v1-2.
1. Something of great value is lost. Jesus is saying that the sinners are of great value to God.
2. An intense search takes place. v4, 8, 20. Every person is valuable to God, and even when they are a long way off, God is searching and waiting for them.
3. A great celebration is thrown. v6-7, 9-10, 22-24. Ps 103:8-13.
4. Rules without relationship lead to rebellion. v25-32. The older brother represents the Pharisees. We don't enter into a relationship with Jesus by following the rules, only through the love and sacrifice of Jesus and our acceptance of his gift of salvation.

Snapshots: Radical Love

Lk 10:25-37 Radical Love
Love:
Storge - natural bond
Philia - friend bond
Eros - emotional/physical bond
Agape - unconditional "God" love
Radical: (especially of change or action) relating to or affecting the fundamental nature of something; far-reaching or thorough.
One thing you can never be too radical about is love.
v25 the person was an "expert of the law" of the old testament, trying to trap Jesus.
v26 Jesus flips the question right back to him, knowing the person's motive.
1. Radical love ALWAYS starts with God. 1 Jn 4:19. We must understand who God is and who we are.
2. Radical love must involve action. v31-33, 1 Jn 3:18. The priest and the levite represent lifeless religion. The reason we pass by the needy and dying people in the world is either that we don't have compassion or the fact that our own agendas are our main focus. What areas have I made it more about myself that about God?
3. Radical love requires sacrifice...It goes above and beyond. v34-35. If I don't stop to help, what will happen to him?
4. Radical love is impossible without Jesus Christ. v36. Lk 6:31-33, 35-36. Where am I putting my time, money and resources? What is it doing for me?
Put yourself in that ditch, knowing that we are completely dead, spiritually bankrupt. Jesus is the one who passes by, picking us up, bringing us back to life, giving us a new life.

Snapshots: I was blind, but now I can see!

Jn 9
1. Don't play the blame game. v2, the disciples tried to blame the blindness on someone's sin. Life happens. We live in a broken world. Being angry and bitter over bad circumstances is unproductive.
2. Your crisis is a setup for God to show off. v3. God uses the bad stuff to show His power. Rom 8:28-29. God uses these things to make us more like Him.
3. Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. v6, 2 Cor 5:7. Sometimes it takes a while for our circumstances to catch up with our faith.
4. Use what you have (Don't sit around feeling sorry for yourself). v7, the man couldn't see, but he could hear and walk, so he obeyed.
5. Jesus makes us into new people. v8-9, people didn't recognize the blind man once he could see. An experience with Jesus will change you.
6. Don't let a bad church experience keep you from Jesus. v34
7. Three words that will change your life: Lord I believe. v38.