Pastor Tony Ashmore continues the series "Unload" in this Sunday morning celebration.
Unload PT3
Pastor Tony Ashmore
Sunday, April 29, 2012
www.mylifegatechurch.com
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Rest for our Souls: Keeping a Saved Soul Healthy
Hebrews 3:19, 4:1, 11-12 “So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest. God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it…So let us do our best to enter that rest…For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” Note the key: His Word—willing obedience. Isaiah 1:19 (TNIV) “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land.”
Jeremiah 6:16 ‘This is what the Lord says:
“Stop at the crossroads and look around.
Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.
Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.
But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’”
God has THE WAY—defined by Jesus—THE WORD. Any other path we choose, based on what we think we want that God must not be able to supply, will result in a monster that must be fed. Example: the volcano in Nicaragua and the endless sacrifice of loved ones to ‘feed the monster’. The result is we spend our lives seeking the rest we are designed to desire without entering. Our souls (mind, will, reasoning and emotions) are required of us by the other ‘paths’ while THE PATH provides rest for our souls (mind, will, reasoning and emotions).
Colossians 3:23 “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men…”
Whatever you do…do it as unto the Lord: This becomes the filter in our life, the healthy boundaries that keep us on the rich and satisfying life “path” instead of venturing onto the “path” that leads to disappointment and destruction. Sometimes, we end up there accidentally, sometimes through ignorance, and sometimes by choice. The key is don’t stay there! One of the enemies most used tricks to get us off the path, and therefore no longer “under the wings” of His protection, is to distort the Sabbath principle. In fact, the deception of the first humans was through the Sabbath principle—find your rest in something other than God. We give away the things that belong to the people of God, things He gave us to provide rest and refreshment, finding less and less satisfaction but more and more effort. (example: dancing as unto the Lord has become a never-ending quest requiring more of our souls.)
Genesis 3:4-7 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. Note the process: “It will be just as good without God (note the lie today about participation in a local church).” The other “path” looks good, is pleasing and promises great results—all things we want and already have in God. We fall for the trick, then seek out others so we feel safer in our choice. We “get” we were tricked, but our pride or shame now kick in and we seek to “make it work” or “fix our mess” on our own. (conceit, provoke, jealous—Gal 5:26). What was supposed to be our source of refreshment has now become another thing we must support with our effort thereby adding to our ‘work’ and keeping us from entering the rest.
Mark 4:19 (GWT) ”…the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of riches, and the desires for other things take over. They choke the word so that it can’t produce anything.” Note the traps that cause us to look elsewhere for answers, with the result of bad directions, wrong turns, wasted time, lost our way.
Galatians 5:25-26 “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.” Note the results of following our own ‘paths’—conceited (vain, proud, egotistical, self-important, self-satisfied, having an excessively favorable opinion of one's abilities or appearance); provoked (irk, annoy, aggravate, exacerbate, infuriate, anger, frustrate); jealousy (feeling resentment because of another's success, advantage, characterized by or proceeding from suspicious fears or envious resentment; inclined to or troubled by suspicions or fears)
1 John 2:15-17 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
The “paths” offered by the world are not sustainable (ironic with all the ‘sustainable’ talk we hear today). They require our efforts, our strength, and our abilities. But we are investing in a system that is continually dying, fading away, so it, like a ponzi scheme, will require more and more with less and less return. Live as ‘unto the Lord’ instead of ourselves and we find true rest, true life. Note the result of a lifestyle of serving others and generosity in all areas: “These are happy people.” Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
SO WHAT:
Exodus 20:24 “…Build my altar wherever I cause my name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you. “ Be intentional about thankfulness. Notice how much we want God’s involvement in our projects until we become good at doing it. Then we trust in ourselves more and more.
• Trust in me = no holiness and more effort= no rest.
• Thankful, grateful for everything no matter how good I get at doing it = a place where His name is remembered= a place of His presence = a blessed life = righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost = a Sabbath rest lifestyle.
• Trust in Him = holy = keeping the Sabbath holy = true rest and replenishment.
- Realize, Repair, Refill: Be honest about the condition of your soul caused by stinking thinking. Allow the Holy Spirit to correct the way you think through God’s Word. Intentionalize ‘time with God’ to continually be filled with the Holy Spirit and joy.
- Clarity + Courage + Calendar = Simplicity: understand WRM. Courageously restructure around WRM. Schedule with WRM priorities, incorporating the Sabbath Principle.
3 Keys to embracing the Sabbath Principle: (compare 1st Adam, especially Genesis 3:4-7, to 2nd Adam-Jesus)
1. Come up before you break down. (Revelation 4:1) altitude determines your attitude. Get God's perspective. 30,000 feet vs. 3 feet.
2. Come apart before you fall apart. (Mark 6:45-47) solitude not isolation. Thinking, prayer and reflection Isaiah 1:13
3. Come together before you pull away. (Hebrews10:24-25) healthy connections draw you closer to God, the church and your purpose.
Pastor Tony Ashmore continues the series "Route 456" in this Sunday morning celebration.
