One Another: Comfort One Another

2 Cor 1:3-11
1. God comforts us in all of our troubles. 2 Cor 1:4.
2. Affliction is a part of the human experience. 2 Cor 11:23-26; Jas 1:2-4
3. God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but he comforts us to make us comforters. 2 Cor 1:4. Comfort: to come alongside. God will come alongside us, even as we walk through the most painful things. He uses our pain, and wants us to comfort others.
4. Don't waste your pain. Acts 16:30-33. Paul was wounded, but he was praising Jesus and comforting others.
5. Our hope is in God. When you really need comfort, lean in to God. 2 Cor 1:8-9.
6. Put a little praise on your pain.

One Another: Forgive One Another

It's easy to love forgiveness when I'm the one being forgiven. It's hard to forgive others.

Reasons we give for not forgiving others:
1. I can't forgive, it's too big, too painful.
2. I need some time.
3. I'll forgive when they say they're sorry.
4. I can't forgive if I can't forget.
5. If I forgive, they'll just hurt me again.

Col 2:13-14, 3:5, 8, 12-13; our sins were forgiven through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.
Mt 18:21-35

1. There is no scorecard in forgiveness. We need to have a heart of forgiveness.
2. Unforgiveness with affect you.
3. Unforgiveness will affect everyone around you.
4. Unforgiveness will affect your relationship with God. Mt 6:14-15 If you forgive others, your Father will forgive you.
5. Because we've been forgiven much, we forgive.
6. Forgiveness is a command, not a suggestion.

One Another: Love One Another

Jn 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

How Jesus loved us:
1. Jesus Loved Conspicuously: (standing out so as to be clearly seen) Agape - love is an action, a choice (i.e. healing the sick, being a servant, stood up for the outcasts and spent time with sinners). Eph 5:1; 1 Jn 3:18; 1 Cor 13:1-3
2. Jesus Loved Sacrificially: Jn 3:16; 1 Jn 4:8. To love sacrificially the way Jesus loved, is often inconvenient.
3. Jesus Loved Unconditionally: Rom 5:8; Jn 6:32, 35; Lk 6:35; 23:34
4. Jesus Loved Deeply: The woman at the well - Jn 4; 1 Pet 4:8

What is the distinguishing mark of my life? What characteristic would people say about me?

Reconciliation

2 Cor 5:17-21
1. The definition of reconciliation: the restoration of friendly relationships, putting a broken relationship back together.
2. The need for reconciliation: Col 1:21, Eph 2:1-2. We are in desperate need of reconciliation with God due to our sin.
3. The process of reconciliation: 2 Cor 5:18-21. Reconciliation comes through Jesus' death and resurrection. He lived a life that we could never live and he died the death that we should have died. The righteousness of Christ was deposited into our account so that we could be reconciled to God. God takes all of the steps toward us to reconcile the relationship.
4. The result of reconciliation: 2 Cor 5:19 "He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though we were making his appeal to us."

Breathing Room: Don't Blink

Mt 25:14-26a
v14 The man going on the journey is Jesus, we are the servants.
v16-17 We want to use what God has given us well, and give it all back to God. v21,23 "We'll done, good and faithful servant!"
v18 I don't want to be the servant that buries my gifts, isn't prepared, and doesn't use them. v26 "You wicked, lazy servant!" I don't want Jesus asking me "What were you thinking?!"
Random thoughts from Ron:
1. Believe in Jesus.
2. Know that every day is a gift. Ps 118:24, Josh 24:15
3. Live for God. 1 Cor 10:31, Gal 6:14. Everything points back to God. Live my life with an eternal perspective, don't waste it.
4. Trust in God. Rom 8:28-30
5. Fight hard. 2 Tim 4:7
6. Rest often.
7. Be still. I need to stop and listen to God.

Breathing Room: Breathe Spiritually

1 Cor 6:12
Jn 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
What is your identity? What do you identify with most? Identity- the thing by which we identify with most.
Internal challenges- Gal 5:1
1. We are no longer slaves to our past. Guilt. Grace. Labels attach themselves securely to our souls, not to easily be removed. Jn 8:31b-32. The Truth will overcome the lies and labels. Truth is a person-Jesus Christ. We need to continuously commune with Jesus. 2 Cor 5:17. God has moved on from our past failures and sins, and so should we. God can use you. Phil 3:13. What or who is the loudest voice in your life?
2. You are no longer slaves to our present. Shame. Mercy. We can't serve both sin and God. Gal 5:16-17. Lie- you are not worthy because of where you are currently stuck. The day that He saved you, He knew you'd be stuck in this sin problem right here and right now. God's label over you is lasting, it's permanent.
3. You are no longer a slave to performance. Fear. Forgiveness. We can't earn or lose God's love through our performance. Eph 2:8-10 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." The more we make this life about us, the more we become suffocated by slavery. Christ AND me vs. Christ IN me.

Breathing Room: Breathing Financially

2300+ verses in scripture talk about money, 15% of Jesus' teachings were about money.
1 Cor 6:12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.

The lies:
1. We lack trust.
2. We've bought into the lies. Joy and contentment can be purchased
3. We're temporal/earthly focused.
4. Our hearts go unchecked.

The remedy:
Lk 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
1. Trust God. Lk 12:32 God gives us everything we need and more. Tithing: Gen 14, 28; Lev 27:30; Num 18:25-28; Deut 14:22-24; 2 Chron 31:5-6; Mal 3; Mt 23:23; Lk 18:2.
2. Know, believe, and love the Truth. Lk 12:33a. Josh Becker book: The More of Less. Buy only things that have purpose in your life.
3. Maximize your treasure in heaven, not on earth. Lk 12:33.
4. Check your heart regularly. Allow God to check your heart. Ps 139:23 "Search me and know my anxious thoughts."
Lk 3:10-14 "What should we do then?” the crowd asked.  John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”  Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”  “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.  Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”