Sunday, November 11, 2018

Trusting God through Trouble

Trust is to allow someone to do something without fearing the outcome.  

Sometimes God will take us through a storm for His divine purpose.  

Always look for God in the way things are.  

Trusting God will not take your troubles away, but will give you  new perspective.  


Nahum 1:3 (NKJV) 


“We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV) 


“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.” Ephesians 1:18 (NIV) 


“We are: hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;  
perplexed, but not in despair;  
persecuted, but not abandoned; 
struck down, but not destroyed.” 
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV) 

• NEVER PUT A  


WHERE GOD PUT A  
period where God has placed comma

!
 
•  
Trust God in adversity. 

• THE SEED OF  
faith
 
,
 PLANTED IN THE SOIL OF adversity 

  
,
 
UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYE OF THE gardener 

beauty
 
,
 
WILL BRING FORTH  


IN ITS SEASON


“We live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) 

Feed on the Bible everyday.   
•  
Pray for the rain of the Holy Spirit. 

•  
Pull the weeds.  (attitudes such as worries, unforgiveness, bitterness, envy, etc.)



•   Guard against bugs. (habits, behaviors, poor choices, unhealthy relationships, etc.)
•  
Prepare for a harvest. 


“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 (NIV) 


“Praise be to the God and Father of or Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”2 Corinthians 2:3-4 (NIV) 

 • TRUST: TO ALLOW SOMEONE TO DO SOMETHING  
 Buddy Owens Saddleback Church

Sunday, November 4, 2018

How to Worship - Rick Warren

HOW WORSHIPING WITH OTHERS CHANGES YOU


WHAT IS WORSHIP?

Expressing our love and gratitude to God
for who He is, what He’s done, what He’s said, and what He’s promised to do!

Jesus: “The most important command of all is this one: You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength!”Mark 12:29-30  



WHY DO WE EXPRESS OUR LOVE TO GOD?

1. BECAUSE  

we were made to be loved by God.  We don't worship  
God when we don't realize how much He loves us. 

“We love because God first loved us!” 1 John 4:19 (NCV)  

“Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.”Ephesians 1:4-5 (NLT)  


2. BECAUSE  

everything comes from God.  Our air.  Our heart beat.  He created everything to
sustain us.

David: “These gifts did not really come from me and my people. Everything comes from you; we can only give you back what you have given us!”1 Chronicles 29:14 


3. BECAUSE  

we understand life from God's perspective when we worship.   

David: “I tried to understand it all, but it was too hard for me to see until I went to the Temple of God. Then I understood what was happening . . .”Psalm 73:16-17   


4. BECAUSE  

God strengthens us through worship to defeat the things that defeat us.  

“You, Lord, keep my lamp burning and turn darkness to light. You help me defeat the enemies of my life. Your way is perfect, Lord, and your word is correct. You are a shield for those who run to you for help . . . You give me strength and you guide me right!Psalm 18:28-32 (CEV)  



WHAT KIND OF WORSHIP DOES GOD LOVE?


Wholehearted worship. God hates fake worship.  

“Hezekiah dedicated his life to serving God. Everything he did in worship in God’s temple, he did wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful and prospered.”2 Chronicles 31:21 (GW)  
GOD HATES INSINCERE, HEARTLESS WORSHIP

GOD: “These people SAY they are mine, but they honor me only with their lips! Their hearts are far away from me! And their worship of me amounts to nothing more than human traditions that they have memorized and say by rote!”Isaiah 29:13 

Jesus: “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth! That’s the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” John 4:23 (NIV)  



HOW TO TELL GOD YOU LOVE HIM (WAYS TO WORSHIP)

NOTE:  
Watching worship on TV or on the internet
IS NOT WORSHIP!!!


1. BY  
listening carefully and responding 
TO GOD’S WORD. Take notes to obey. 

“Gather ALL the people together: men, women, children, and immigrants living in your towns so everyone can listen and learn to respect the Lord and carefully obey everything in his Word.”Deuteronomy 31:12 (NCV)  

Jesus: “Now that you KNOW these things, you will be blessed IF you DO them!” John 13:17 (NIV)  

Taking notes is part of worship!


2. BY  
singing to Him
WITH OUR WHOLE HEARTS.  Impression without expression equals depression.  Praise is a mood lifter.  It is an antidote to depression.  Singing is the expression of the emotions.  

“Celebrate God! SING TOGETHER – everyone! All of you with honest hearts, raise the roof!” Psalm 32:11(Mes)  


3. BY  
talking to God
TOGETHER IN PRAYER. To build a relationship, you've got to communicate.  If you want a friendship with God, you've got to talk to Him all the time.  There is nothing off limits in a love relationship with God. 

“They all joined TOGETHER constantly in prayer.” Acts 1:14 (NIV)  

“We must help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you.” Romans 1:12 (NCV)  


4. BY  
sharing the Lord's supper 
TOGETHER.  It shouldn't be taken in grief because Jesus came back to life.  It should be done in gratitude.  It is for people who've have accepted Jesus's death for them.   It is taken in gratitude for your forgiveness, your freedom, and your future.    

“Jesus said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by the shedding of my blood. So do this often in remembrance of me."1 Corinthians 11:25 (NLT)  


5. BY  recommitting our lives to God.  


Mercy is God taking away what is bad.  Grace is getting from God what is good.  A living sacrifice can crawl off the altar.  We are to offer our bodies to God daily.
  
“Because of God’s great mercy to you, offer your lives as living sacrifices to Him, dedicated to serving him in a holy and pleasing way – this is your spiritual act of worship.”Romans 12:1   


6. BY  
giving back
SOME OF WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US.  You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving.  We don't give out of pressure, but we give out of love.    

“On every Lord’s Day each of you should put aside something from what you have earned during the week and give it back as your offering. The amount depends on how much the Lord helped you earn.”1 Corinthians 16:2 (LB)  


7. BY  
being baptized to
PUBLICLY DECLARE OUR FAITH.

“Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ.” Colossians 2:12 (Mes) 

“In Christ’s Body you are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:22 (NIV) 


 

The Space between our Prayers and Praise

 What do we do while we wait for our prayers to be answered?   In Daniel 10:11-13,  Daniel's prayer was answered the first day he prayed...