12/05/10 - Jesus' Christmas List - Pastor Tony Ashmore

Pastor Tony Ashmore teaches about "Jesus' Christmas List" in this Vision Sunday service.

Jesus Christmas List

Pastor Tony Ashmore
Sunday, December 5, 2010

www.mylifegatechurch.com


Sermon Notes:

Vision Sunday: December 2010
Jesus’ Christmas List—Remembering the “Wish Book”

Luke 15:  3 stories about Jesus’ Christmas List..  Religion “triggered” these stories.  (Message)  “I’m not religious.  I have a real relationship with Jesus.” Remember: Relationship without passion is religion.  These stories tell the tale of that.  Are we distracted with what distracts Jesus, or are we religious?

-  Lost sheep—outside the house.  Those not yet in our circle of influence.  These are who the church is for—those not here yet.

-  Lost coin—inside the house.  Those in our circle of influence.  This is the ones in our own house, our church, who are backing off, playing games, living a lie.

-  Lost son—those closest to us.  This is the people we are with the most—our family, our best friends. 

Jesus is teaching that he loves those he has found but is distracted by those still lost. 

Are we distracted by the lost and the hurting?  Are we throwing parties when someone finds Jesus?  Do we come to the party? Are we making sure we are the party people want to come to?

Jesus wants a distracted church for Christmas.

How: Deal with the Ghosts that Distract Us

*   The Ghost of Christmas Past—Put our behind in the past.  The life of “regret” is distracted by what could have been.  2 Corinthians 7:10 “For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.”

*   The Ghost of Christmas Present: What is distracting me now? Why does something distract us?  Because it gets our attention.  It keeps our attention if we develop a passion for it.

   1 Corinthians 7:29-35 “But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage. Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away. I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. His interests are divided. I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.”

(Paul is using this as an example of distraction by things present, not establishing a doctrine of leaving marriage.  He is encouraging an “and” lifestyle instead of an “either-or” one that the world demands.  Love God first with everything in you and you will be more empowered to love others properly, including yourself.)

*   The Ghost of Christmas Future:  Are we living in a way that increases our Kingdom influence?  Is Discipleship on our radar or are our future plans all about us? What are we giving our energy to that is temporal instead of eternal?

    1 Peter 2:11 “Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.”

    2 Corinthians 4:18 “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

*   Embrace the Holy Ghost:

    2 Corinthians 3:18 “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

    Romans 8:9-11 (MESSAGE) “But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God's terms. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's!”

*   Party like Heaven.

Make sure you see our church as the hope of the world.  It is God’s hope.  It can never be about the ones who are here.  It must be about who is not here yet.  Every week, be intentional in telling someone about Jesus and your church.  When here, be intentional about making connections.  Watch for the new face and become their friend.  It is your job to make sure we stay distracted by being a party church.  Luke 15:8 'Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!' Count on it—that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God."