Scripture references from the sermon this morning...

Here's the Scripture I used in the service this morning.  My daughter told me that I blew past some of the references, so I thought I'd just post a blog with all the Scripture and references I used if anyone missed anything. 

67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
   for he has visited and redeemed his people
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
   in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies
   and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
   and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74     that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75     in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Luke 1:67-75 (ESV)
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18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18 (NIV)
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10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Proverbs 9:10 (NIV)____________________

8 I keep the Lord in mind always.  Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my spirit rejoices; my body also rests securely.

Psalm 16:8-9 (HCSB)
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31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)____________________

The story of Jesus (and Peter) walking on the water
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.
23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land,beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Matthew 14:22-33 (ESV)
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19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:19-20 (NIV)

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29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)

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Examples of Israel forgetting God and it leading them into sin...
7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
Judges 3:7 (NIV)

33 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god
34 and did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.
Judges 8:33-34 (NIV)

14 Israel has forgotten their Maker and built palaces; Judah has fortified many towns. But I will send fire on their cities that will consume their fortresses."
Hosea 8:14 (NIV)

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23 23 Then you will walk safely in your way,
And your foot will not stumble.
24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.
25 Do not be afraid of sudden terror,
Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;
26 For the Lord will be your confidence,
And will keep your foot from being caught.
Proverbs 3:23-26 (NIV)

Hope that helps and I apologize if I blew past some of that too quickly.

The Unused Potential of Receiving Gifts

I happened across an amazing stat the other day that is pretty relevant for this time of year.  Ten billion of gift card money goes unused every year...$10,000,000,000 unused every year...wow.  I think there’s a lot of things I could get done with $10 billion every year, if no one really wants that.  We think that’s kind of crazy to just leave money laying there, but the reality is as Christians, we do this all the time.

All the time, God is giving us gifts of blessings.  Maybe, we’ve been praying for something to happen in our career or a situation to be resolved in a relationship or a financial situation, and then God comes through.  Sometimes, it’s more behind the scenes, and we just pass by it almost obliviously because we thought we got lucky or fortunate and don’t even consider that God did it at all.  Even at the times we completely realize the gift that God has given us at the moment, we can leave a big part of the gift unclaimed.  How?  In taking the time to reflect on it and give thanks to Him for it.

When we take time to thank God for things, it causes us to analyze all that it took to make that particular thing happen.  It reminds us that God can do things in situations that we can’t do and although, we are not in control, He is and is Someone that we can go through.  As Christians, it increases our faith in multiple ways.  Since God came through all those barriers, we can trust Him to come through on bigger things.  It increases our “faith stamina” to wait on God next time, when the answer seems longer than usual.  

So many times, the reason that we give up on God is because we’ve left millions of “gift card” dollars in blessings unrealized is because we haven’t thanked God and created a mental history list of all the things He has done.  1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “in all things, give thanks” and that’s not just to recognize God, but God has made it so that it builds us up in doing so.  When you have that history, it reinforces you in tough times, when the answers take longer to come, and it keeps your mind at ease, because you know, that God has a plan...just like He had a plan since the beginning of time to send His Son as His gift to the world and that’s why we are giving each other gifts at this time of year.

The next time you get a blessing from God, or a gift card, make sure you take the time to get all the dollars out of that “gift” and don’t let your blessing be a crazy statistic that goes unclaimed and unused.

A Sabbatical

Next week, many of you have heard and I've talked with you about my taking a sabbatical during the month of June.  I just wanted to explain a few things, so you can know what's up.

What is a sabbatical?
If you aren't familiar with the concept of a sabbatical, usually it's termed most often in the case of a professor or teacher in college for them to take time to have some professional development, to write or do intensive study and recharge.  It's a time of improving themselves to come back as a better teacher.

While it's known in the US more in those secular circles, it is actually derived from the Biblical term "sabbath", which is a time of "religious observance, abstaining from work".  We are to practice this weekly habit of spending devoted time centering on Christ away from our work.  

Why do you need a sabbatical?
If we look a the life of Christ, there were times when he withdrew for extended periods to recharge and be ready for the next season of his ministry.  This is a practice I try to repeat regularly in short stints, because, as you may know or not know, as a pastor, I'm really never off the job.

How long is a sabbatical and when do you take it?
In many churches and religious organizations, they have started giving their ministers and leaders sabbaticals after certain periods of service in current roles.  It can range from a month to 3 months to 6 months or in some extreme cases, a year.

At First Baptist, after every 7 years of service, you are given a month of paid sabbatical leave, usually encouraged to be taken all at once, to recharge, develop, learn and rest.  This year is my 7th year and next week, I'll be taking one month off of my duties as campus pastor at Bay West Church.  

Will you be attending Bay West while you are on sabbatical?
No.  During that time, I won't be attending Bay West Church, but I will be attending and worshiping elsewhere (I don't a break from following Christ.)  I will be observing other churches, meeting with other church staffs, and if I was at Bay West, I couldn't be off anyway.

Do you just vacation or hang out at your house?
No, but I have presented a plan to our Personnel Team and they have approved my itinerary and plan to make the best of this time away.

Over this time, I will be unavailable.  I'll be spending some concentrated time with my family.  I'll be seeking wisdom from concentrated time alone with God most of all.  I'll learning from other staff members/pastors from some different churches, conducting interviews on the subject of church growth, multisite work and other leadership subjects trying to better myself as a leader as we look to the future of Bay West.  I have been working on writing a book, as well, and will be devoting some time to that, as well as some time to reading and learning myself.

Is there something wrong?
Nope.  We do things like this as a preventative measure, so everything stays right.

Who will be preaching?
Bob Lorenzo, who has taught us several times before, and who you hear indirectly through me a lot because of his influence in my life, will be preaching.  The rest of the staff will be operating as normal.

Will things fall apart?
No.  I've tried very hard to make Bay West not about my presence on a Sunday, but the presence of God and in doing so, you are surrounded every week/Sunday with capable leadership and a sound structure, so things should run like a top.

Can I still be baptized in our services?
Absolutely, but the process is the same.  You'll need to call our offices, we'll schedule a time to meet with one of our ministers to make sure you are ready spiritually, and then we will coordinate the baptism in our services.

What if I have an emergency and/or need a pastor?
Please contact Mandy at  our offices at (321) 723-0561 and Nate, Randy or Raul will help you or if they are unavailable, one of the pastors from the Melbourne Campus will contact you. 

Can I just call you and chat?
Normally, I'm up for that, but since I'm trying to spend time away, that probably wouldn't be best. I'll be back to see you soon.

How long will you be gone?
I'll be back in services at Bay West Church on Sunday, July 6th.

I would like to thank you all for allowing me to do this and it is my hope that I will return as a better Christ follower, husband, father and pastor as we continue together into the future.

Please be faithful, come prepared to worship and learn because as I am listening to the Lord during this time, I expect him to be faithfully teaching you special things through the normal activity at Bay West, that if you were to take a break from, you would miss, so please continue attending, serving, loving, worshiping, giving, cultivating, giving, communicating and being the church.  I'll be there this Sunday, then I'll see you in July.

In Christ,
Jim

Quick recap of Sunday's sermon Week 2 of SIGNS - Yield

Bad news...no podcast this week, because we had some difficulty last Sunday.  Put down some rough thoughts from my sermon notes..

Yielding to God is essential to following God.

The concept of yielding in driving is giving someone else the right of way, letting them go first before you.  The concept of yielding to God is similar, it's giving someone else the priority or the right of way in your life...setting aside your schedule or goals in deference to theirs.

How do we do that?  Enter Jonah...specifically Jonah 2, his prayer in the belly of the fish.

4 stops in the process of yielding.
1)  Understand reality.  Jonah 2:1-6

• God is in control of and owns everything.  All kinds of "your" language in these verses.  It is clear that Jonah is coming to grips with the fact that all this is God's and he'd better get with the program of reality.
  We operate in our own little fake reality so often, where we are in control and God is living to serve us...untrue and just like simply denying that a brick wall is there and trying to run head first through it is painful, damaging and impossible...so is not grasping that all this, including me, was created for God, not the other way around.
• We are hopeless and helpless without God.
  We can't even see what God has given us without Him
  12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
  1 Corinthians 2:12 (NIV)

There are 4 sources of authority in everyone’s life and everyone's decisions are made under one of these authority structures. 1)  Scripture  2)  Experience 3)  Tradition 4)  Reason -

At some point, if you are going to follow Christ, Scripture has to become the authority structure that trumps everything.

2) A recognition of our personal situation. Jonah 2:7

• Jonah realized that his life was ebbing away...he had forgotten God, he had not prayed to God (only guy on the ship that DIDN'T pray, fyi), and he had turned away from God's presence (the Holy Temple is symbolic of God's presence in Scripture).
• BUT here's the biggest recognition personally for him...vs. 8

“Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them."

He was clinging to an idol of his standards and prejudices against the Ninevites for their reputation in cruelty...He was clinging to his own idols instead of God.

3)  Jonah’s response to his situation Jonah 2:9

But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.  I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”

• Praise right where he is...don't wait to get out of the fish.
• Sacrifice his standards to God's...God first
• Act on his commitment to God.  In the dark, act on what God has told you in the light.
• Become a verbal and life example of God's salvation.

4)  God's restoration of Jonah.  Jonah 2:10

God spoke to the fish (still in control of his fish) and it spit Jonah out.

Couple of things:

1)  When you come out of the storm of life or the belly of your fish, you won't be where you were when you came in...no going back to what it used to be.

2)  You'll be prepared for what God has for you next.  Some say that even Jonah's "bleached" appearance from the gastric juices inside the fish, may have "augmented" his appearance to make his message to Nineveh more noticeable when he got there.

While many say that Jonah 2 is a prayer of repentance, and inside the fish IS where Jonah turned it around with hints of repentance in vs.7 and 9, the overall theme isn't repentance...it's a prayer of thanksgiving.  The fish saved him physically from drowning in the storm and it also saved him emotionally by forcing him to realize where he was and to respond.

Imagine the worst thing, the most traumatic thing in your life, at some point, God having healed that to such a degree that you thank Him for it...in all things give thanks...28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 (NIV)

Scripture references from "True Woman", 2nd part of our YOU series...

From Katye and my talk about Biblical womanhood last weekend in our YOU series, here are the Scripture references we used.

Main passage:

10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?

   She is more precious than rubies.

11 Her husband can trust her,

   and she will greatly enrich his life.

12 She brings him good, not harm,

   all the days of her life.

13 She finds wool and flax

   and busily spins it.

14 She is like a merchant’s ship,

   bringing her food from afar.

15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household

   and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it;

   with her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 She is energetic and strong,

   a hard worker.

18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable;

   her lamp burns late into the night.

19 Her hands are busy spinning thread,

   her fingers twisting fiber.

20 She extends a helping hand to the poor

   and opens her arms to the needy.

21 She has no fear of winter for her household,

   for everyone has warm clothes.

22 She makes her own bedspreads.

   She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.

23 Her husband is well known at the city gates,

   where he sits with the other civic leaders.

24 She makes belted linen garments

   and sashes to sell to the merchants.

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity,

   and she laughs without fear of the future.

26 When she speaks, her words are wise,

   and she gives instructions with kindness.

27 She carefully watches everything in her household

   and suffers nothing from laziness.

28 Her children stand and bless her.

   Her husband praises her:

29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,

   but you surpass them all!”

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;

   but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.

31 Reward her for all she has done.

   Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Proverbs 31:10-31 (NLT)

About the “responder” characteristic of women

14 But then I will win her back once again.

   I will lead her into the desert

   and speak tenderly to her there.

15 I will return her vineyards to her

   and transform the Valley of Trouble[b] into a gateway of hope.

She will give herself to me there,

   as she did long ago when she was young,

   when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.”  

Hosea 2:14-15 (NLT)

About our responsibility as men to give God-honoring things to respond to.

As far as not being careless and flippant with what we say...

36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,Matthew 12:36 (ESV)

What our goal for our conversations to be...

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Colossians 4:6 (NIV)

It’s not just the words, but where the heart is that they come from…

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

   be acceptable in your sight,

   O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14 (ESV)

We should also respond appropriately for each situation...not just what you say, how you say it, but when you say it...does it fit the situation?

29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.Ephesians 4:29 (ESV)

About the beauty characteristic of women

3 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. 4 You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.1 Peter 3:3-4 (NLT)

All women are beautiful and the greatest beauty is a heart for the Lord.

As men, do we value that actively in the way we deal with all women (mothers, sisters, nieces, co-workers, friends, etc…)

On what God values…

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)

30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.Proverbs 31:30 (ESV)

On the proper place for the physical vs the spiritual

8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

1 Timothy 4:8 (ESV)

On the role of influencer that a woman has…

26 When she speaks, her words are wise,

   and she gives instructions with kindness.

Proverbs 31:26 (NLT)

4 These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children,

Titus 2:4 (NLT)

Men should receive the influence, not resist it.

12 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.Proverbs 12:1 (NIV)

20 Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life.

Proverbs 19:20 (NLT)

20 Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.

Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)

Because of their great influence, men should take care what women they allow to influence them.

33  Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)

26 The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

Proverbs 12:26 (NIV)

Followup to yesterday's sermon....my bad

Hey guys, 

Every now and then, I realize that I start referring to Scripture that we don't put on the outline or on the screen, and I talk pretty fast or just breeze past the reference once and keep on going to the next thing.  One of the things I'm constantly working on is slowing down and I have over the years at Bay West, but I can fall back into habits periodically.  I apologize for that.

So, here's straight from my notes all the auxiliary Scripture that I referred to, but we didn't put on the screen.

In reference to no forgiveness of sin being given without the shedding of blood...
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Hebrews 9:22 (NIV)

In reference to one sacrifice, Jesus, paying the price for all sin...
14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
2 Corinthians 5:14 (NIV)

In reference to where wisdom begins...
10 1010  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10 (NIV)

In reference to wisdom only coming from God...

About the Holy Spirit...

• He is your teacher 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.John 14:26 (NIV)
• He helps you know the right thing from the wrong thing AND he will help you know the right thing to say...13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.John 16:13 (NIV) 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.Luke 21:15 (NIV)
• He convicts us of sin...8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.John 16:8-11 (NIV)

On Satan being our accuser, who tries to get believers to buy into condemnation...

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power
    and the kingdom of our God,    and the authority of his Messiah.For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
    who accuses them before our God day and night,    has been hurled down.Revelation 12:10 (NIV)

On God finishing and completing everything that He begins in you...
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

On God giving us direction in ways only He can do...
21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

On our righteous deeds on our own being worthless...
6 6  All of us have become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
    and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)

Once again, my bad.  Hope this helps...

In Christ,
Jim

P.S.  Here's a bonus.  I didn't refer to this one this morning, but I talked about the concept, but didn't mention the reference...
About God being the source of any real wisdom you hear...
20 He said, "May God be praised for ever and ever! He is wise and powerful. 21 He changes times and seasons. He sets up kings. He removes them from power. The wisdom of those who are wise comes from him. He gives knowledge to those who have understanding. 22 He explains deep and hidden things. He knows what happens in the darkest places. And where he is, everything is light. "Daniel 2:20-22 (NIRV)