09/11/11 - Crazy Bout The Word - Pastor Tony Ashmore

Pastor Tony Ashmore continues the series "Crazy" with part 2, "Crazy Bout The Word" in this Sunday morning celebration.

Crazy PT2
Pastor Tony Ashmore
Sunday, September 11, 2011

www.mylifegatechurch.com


Sermon Notes:

You might be crazy if…

*   Your favorite book and favorite author are the same word:  John. 
*   You have no idea what the hottest new song or band is, you think Beautiful Exchange by Hillsongs is probably #1 on the charts! Your friends think you are out of touch with reality because you don’t keep up with the latest news, fads, events, rumors.  They also notice you seem happier all the time too.
*   Your kids are complaining about what you will not let them watch on television and roll their eyes when you suggest a movie.
*   You and your closest friends get really stoked because the message at church this week was the same thing you have been talking about when you get together.  You also might be crazy if some of your “normal” family/friends ask if you can talk about something besides the Word, church, or Jesus.  They’ll say it nicely to avoid sounding “anti-Christ” but they are just not into it.
*   Your favorite part of a conversation with a friend who is away from God or His church is when they begin to open the door to talking about Christ.  You have to exercise extreme self-control because you don’t want to scare the living daylights out of them with your Jesus explosion. 
*   Somebody’s really ticked at you because you de-friended them on Facebook because their posts were inappropriate.  You thought you were hiding their posts when you did it but you did it wrong because you really don’t care that much about learning all the rules of Facebook, you just thought it would be a good way to share God’s Word with others.
*   You take the long way to get to the cash register in the convenience store because you have a covenant with your eyes and you will not walk past the girly magazine rack.
*   You think it is normal for God to speak to people.  You actually hear whispers and recognize His voice.  And when you follow those whispers, people’s lives are changed for the better and you know why you are on this planet.
*   You have had a rough week, are worn out, feel beat up, but you get up early on Sunday, arrive at church with a smile on your face, put on your Dream Team badge and serve others willingly because you know God loves it when you keep your word no matter how you feel, you know someone’s life will be touched because you served, and because the Word says you will be blessed, encouraged, and empowered when you get together with other Christians at church.
*   Your children put being at church on the same level as Chuck E. Cheese. 
*   You not only know there is a giving kiosk in the foyer, when you first saw it you wanted to be the first to use it.  Instead of thinking “Oh another way to get money” you thought “Alright, another way to give!” Your method for deciding how much to give is you and your wife each write down a number and you pick the biggest one.
*   You know what SOAP means, you do it everyday, you get together once a week with others to do it, and you think you might start your own SOAP group.
*   You would rather pray about it than talk about it.  You think good things happen when you take it to the Lord in prayer.  People probably think you are too spiritual, they might even think you are a fanatic.  But they also know who can touch God when they need it and they will come to you.
*   You wear Bibles out using them.  You know what a concordance is.  Your favorite app is YouVersion and you know your way around BibleGateway.com better than you do around Google.
*   You read in the Word that God heals, you believe He still does it, in spite of all the reports that tell you it won’t happen, in spite of all those around you expecting the worst, in spite of all the examples where it looks like it didn’t happen, in spite of all the fears inside of you.  You believe it, you speak it, you pray it, and a few weeks ago you walked with your little boy into his first day of preschool—the same little boy who was supposed to die when he was a baby.
Normal people believe in God, but do not  believe His Word is divine.  Crazy people think the Word is supreme, that it is the actual Word of God and is supposed to preeminent in our lives.

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”

Hosea 9:7 ‘Because of your great sin and hostility, you say, “The prophets are crazy and the inspired men are fools!”’  Normal folks think it’s fine for pastors and some of the leaders to go wide open after Jesus in their lives and to make the Word the ultimate authority in their lives, but for those of us with ‘real lives’, that’s just crazy.


Crazy Bout Jesus People Love the Word—The Word is a Person (John 1) and their life is built upon and bounded by the Word

*   It’s important to get the Word inside me.  It permeates me.  Changes the way I think, which changes the way I speak, which changes the way I act, which changes the habits I have, which changes the life I live. Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

*   The Word defines the boundaries you set in your life—the things you see, the things you’ll do, the things you won’t do.  You are teaching your kids how to have a great life by using the Word to set their boundaries, regardless of how it conflicts with the culture.  You have lowered your “chance” of bad choices by lowering the number of choices you must make.  Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

*   The Word opens the door to intimacy with Jesus.  It is the beginning of wisdom.  Develop a love for the Word, fall in love with the Word, and you will develop a longing for more of Jesus.  More of Jesus means less of me.  More of Jesus means more of Heaven released into my earth.  More of Jesus means more understanding of God’s specific words for me—more of my destiny, more of my purpose, more of the rich and satisfying life Jesus died to give me.  Makes me even crazier! Acts 26:19-25 “And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven…24 Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!” (MESSAGE:  That was too much for Festus. He interrupted with a shout: "Paul, you're crazy! You've read too many books, spent too much time staring off into space! Get a grip on yourself, get back in the real world!")  25 But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth—the Word.”

 
So What/Now What?

Hebrews 9:2-4 “There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. 3 Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. 4 In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant…” 
3 levels of God’s Presence: 1) omnipresence; 2) inner presence; 3) manifest presence.
(note Hebrews 8:5) The model of Heaven, the Tabernacle, shows us the Presence of God is on and around the Ark of the Covenant—the container of His Word, His laws, His decrees, His ways.  Fall in love with God’s Word, get it inside you and all around you.  You become an Ark of the Covenant and you will experience His presence in all 3 realms—it will become your “normal”.

*    Get in the Word for yourself. 
   -   Get a Bible version you can understand.
   -   Make reading the Bible a priority.  Put it in your daily schedule.
   -   Start doing SOAP
   -   Join or start a SOAP group