Pastor Tony Ashmore teaches on "Unbreakable" in this Sunday morning celebration.Unbreakable
Pastor Tony Ashmore
Sunday, March 18, 2012
www.mylifegatechurch.com
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Sermon Notes:
Big Idea: If we want to be ‘unbreakable’ in the “What Really Matters” stuff, then we must stay ‘broken’ before God.
Key Scriptures:
Psalm 51:16-17 (GNT) “You do not want sacrifices, or I would offer them; you are not pleased with burnt offerings. My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God; you will not reject a humble and repentant heart.” (Our sacrifice—the ‘do-ing’ is not more ‘works’ to become better, but the honest recognition that He is God and we are not. That He is all we need and we are not. That when our ‘god’ becomes small enough for us to understand, he is not big enough to be our God, but maybe our ‘knowledge’ has instead made us big enough to be our ‘god’.)
James 4:6 (NKJV) “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”’ (We have enough opposition in this world, why get on the opposing side from God. Note Jesus’ and Joshua’s encounter in Joshua 5:13-14…(my paraphrase) Joshua: “Are you friend or foe? Whose side are you on?” Jesus: “I think the better question is “Whose side are you on?” Joshua’s response = fall on his face in humility, submitting his agenda to God’s.)
All of us need more grace. Grace is what bridges the gap between where we are and God’s ideal for us. Without God’s grace we will never live the life He intended us to live. Without grace our lives become more complicated instead of simpler, depending more on our abilities, talents and resources to sustain and simply maintain, or hold desperately onto, what measure of life we have attained. We focus on our own abilities, or lack thereof, and either one is pride. The result is less grace, which means more effort, which makes a more complicated life. The vicious cycle of complicated life seems inescapable, driving us to the ‘breaking point’, overwhelmed, frustrated, and exhausted.
The answer—don’t wait to be ‘driven to the breaking point’—learn to live ‘broken before God.’ We need more grace, so we need more humility. Humility is easy when we seek God for in His presence we see ourselves. Our agendas are revealed (Genesis 46:1-4 So Jacob set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. 2 During the night God spoke to him in a vision. “Jacob! Jacob!” he called. “Here I am,” Jacob replied.
3 “I am God, the God of your father,” the voice said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation. 4 I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring you back again. You will die in Egypt, but Joseph will be with you to close your eyes.” See: Luke 11:34—no ‘folds’ in our eye= no hidden or personal agendas.), the absurdity of our pride is uncovered (Job 38 – 41. Note particularly verses like 38:2-4 and 40:1-2). (Also note that every instance of someone encountering God face to face in the Bible results in that person hitting the ground recognizing how inadequate he/she is in the light of His glory.)
Hebrews 6:18-20 “So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.”
(MESSAGE) “We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.”
Keys to “Unbreakable”:
1. If our trust is in anything other than His promise, His Word and His power to keep them, we are ‘setting ourselves up’ for a fall. …So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie…
2. Our responsibility is to run to Him with our lives—both good and bad. He must be our ‘refuge’—the place we seek help, protection, advice, shelter. …we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence…
3. When our agenda doesn’t match His, His is better. When we trust Him, the consequences of those choices will be His to handle. When we choose our way, the consequences of those choices will be ours to handle. …It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us…
The Result: A life lived broken before God is rare and beautiful—and becomes sought after by others. Consider the 1955 double-struck penny. Pennies are commonplace, but the ‘brokenness’ of this penny makes it more valuable and sought after rather.
So What:
There is no one on this planet “totally surrendered to God”. We all ‘fall short’ of His glory. (Romans 3:23) Be honest. Answer the questions God asked Job. Honesty precedes humility and humility precedes holiness. Get honest with yourself and God. Stop justifying and rationalizing and you will find grace to bridge the gap between where you are and where God wants you to be. Find that and you find the Simple Life—What Really Matters.
Hebrews 12:26-28 “When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.” (note—receiving what is ‘unshakeable’ is not the result of our effort—it is the result of simply responding to Him with thankfulness, reverence and love.)
No comments:
Post a Comment