Month: June 2009

  • Resolved - 6/13/09 - Sat AM

    Blessed Bankruptcy
    Steve Lawson
    Matthew 5:3

    -can't glorify God and sin/tolerate sin at the same time
    - Edwards had zero tolerance for sin in his life, which is why God used him - not cuz of his giftedness, but his godliness
    - declare war on sin in my own life

    -who possesses the kingdom reality in their hearts?
    -Beattitudes- attitudes that ought to be
    -we are penniless and destitute before God cuz of our sin
       - a debt we can never repay..spiritual beggars..we are nothing and have nothing
    -we must admit how spiritually bankrupt we are.

    -the kingdom of God belongs to those who have filed for spiritual bankruptcy with God.
    -acknowledge

    5 key truths
    1) THE PRIORITY
    2) THE PROMISE
    3) THE PARADOX
    4) THE PICTURE
    5) THE PRONOUNCEMENT

    1) THE PRIORITY
        -why is this passage first?
        - all beattitudes flow out of this one
        - must first be poor in spirit. most fundamental and foundational
        - will never get to v. 4-6 until first you are poor in spirit
        - this is the gatekeeper guarding the entrance to the Beattitudes
        - Jesus begins here because the gospel and sanctification begins here
            -the Pharisees missed this. they never saw it as a heart issue
        -we are all poor in spirit. some know, some deny
        *my life is an offense to the holy God.
        -until i take ownership of this, nothing else can happen.

    2) THE PROMISE
        -"Blessed"- primary meaning - redemptive favor; saving grace
                        - secondary meaning - deals w/ our emotional state
                                                        - deep seeded joy, bliss
                                                        - not dependent on earthly things
                                                        - abundance of His happiness and gladness
                                                        - gladness now, glory later
                                                        - Psalm 1-2, 34:8, 112:1, 119:1-2, 128:1

    3) THE PARADOX
        - seems like this is upside down, but it's actually the world that is upside down
        - shows how supernatural it is
        - must have spiritual eyes which requires a supernatural birth

    4) THE PICTURE
        - to be poor in spirit is not: - referring to financial poverty
                                                 - talking about having a poor personality (boring, dull, etc)
                                                 - those w/ false humility (self-pity)
        - to be poor in spirit is:   - receiving one's own spiritual state and how far i fall short
                                             - come empty-handed before God
                                             - poverty of spirit
                                             - i have nothing, i am nothing, i can do nothing
                                             - consciousness of my emptiness
                                             - all righteousness are as filthy rags
        -Luke 18:9 - pharisee and tax collector
                          - tax collector doesn't want justice, but mercy. justice/fairness would be the flames of hell.
        - my life has been a violation before the holy God.

    5) THE PRONOUNCEMENT
        - "theirs is the kingdom of heaven"
        - the grace of God is greater than our sin
        - only in confessing my sin, do i receive salvation
        - as i get closer to the light, i come out of the darkness more and more
        - i am what i am by the grace of God
        - what a great sinner i am, what a great Savior He is.. (Newton)
       
    -Jesus only died for sinners.

    ** you can listen to the mp3 at resolved.org

  • sorrow and joy...

    so, that 3rd thought i had was about the amazing testimonies of andrew and grace mark.
    (http://graceandrew.blogspot.com) this was back in february when he passed and i was greatly
    effected by everything that happened which was/is chronicled on their blog. i briefly met them
    when they visited ibc, but through their blog, i became so invested that i wished there was
    something -anything- we could do to keep him alive and there for his family. 

    but as time waned, i realized that God had a different plan for him and all we know right now
    was that He desired him to be with Him. circumstances don't always go the way we want them
    to go...doesn't mean that God is any less loving or any less powerful or in control. it just reveals
    to me how insignificant i am, how great He is and how He has a plan that i won't always understand,
    but that i can trust fully.

    tonight, i've somehow stumbled onto different blogs regarding this sorrow and joy.

    first, i found this entry: http://thepipers.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/my-favorite-grief-song/
    it caught my attention because i love sandra mccracken and her music. i've actually been listening
    to her latest live album constantly. molly piper is the one who mentions sorrow and joy in the
    entry before this one, i believe.

    second, grace mark posted an entry on their blog: http://graceandrew.blogspot.com
    i appreciate her honesty. i can't even imagine the difficulty, but am confident in the God of all Comfort
    who helps us in our times of need.

    lastly, from the girltalk blog, they had a link to this site: http://deathisnotdying.com/
    it's about a lady named rachel barkey...
    "Rachel Barkey has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Rachel is a wife, a mother of two children, and she is not expected to live to see her 38th birthday."
    "On March 4, 2009, what started out as a speaking engagement for 40 women from her church, blossomed into an event attended by over 600 women."
    i'm still trying to listen to it all...on the site there is a video and audio link.

    check it out and be amazed at the work of God in the lives of these women.