Outrageous Contageous Joy PT2
Pastor Tony Ashmore
Sunday, August 12, 2012
www.mylifegatechurch.com
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Sermon Notes:
Sense-sational
Doing what “feels right” vs. doing what is “righteous” (again, the contrast in the ‘2 houses’—same storms but one stands and one falls)
When we allow our ‘senses’ to become our decision-makers, we relegate ourselves to a life of extreme highs and lows, a life of reaction often followed by regret. The outrageous, contagious joy-filled life is a proactive life led from the inside-out by the Spirit and Word of God.
Romans 1:16-18 (NKJV) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” We are the ‘just’—we have been justified by the Blood of the Lamb. We live—we build our lives, our actions, our behavior, our wants and desires—by faith. It is faith that sustains real life. Senses and feelings promote the ‘false life’ offered by the house that falls. Faith requires Truth to grow and become strong. The Word is the Truth. There are lots of things that are ‘true’ but are not the Truth. There are not many ‘faiths’—from SOAP this week in Ephesians 4: “one faith, one baptism, one Lord—there are lots of belief systems. But again, all those belief systems fall into one of 2 worldviews—a worldview based on Genesis 1:1 or the contrary worldview based on lies.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” I’m not moved by what I see. I’m not moved by what I feel. I’m not moved by what I hear. I’m moved only by the mighty Word of God.
3 Things That Make “Sense to our Senses” but Steal our Joy:
1. Selfishness—looking out for me and my interests. Withholding when times get tight so I’ll be OK. Makes ‘sense’ because we ‘feel’ like it is wisdom. After all, “If I don’t look out for me, who will?”
2. Bitterness—hanging on to hurts and wrongdoing. Becoming a victim. Building walls on ‘invulnerability’ that make us invulnerable to everyone and everything except our enemy whose goal is to destroy us. Makes ‘sense’ because we ‘feel’ justified in the way we ‘feel’ toward the objects of our bitterness.
3. Fear—protects a ‘secret life’—if we reveal it, if we are found out, exposed, we will be let down, disappointed, hurt, betrayed, etc. Fear throttles life by imposing tighter boundaries than God would have for us. Makes ‘sense’ because we ‘feel’ protected and safe.
Joy is choosing to see the beauty and blessings no matter what comes our way in life.
Joy can be defined as the positive confidence I possess by knowing and trusting God regardless of the circumstances.
Joy is inner delight derived from an intimate relationship with Christ. No matter what life brings my way, no matter what the circumstances, if I have this inner delight derived from an intimate relationship with Christ, joy will flood my soul. It’s the peace that surpasses all understanding. It is not based on feelings or human senses. It even goes beyond reason and logic. Our justification and rationale will not understand joy—it’s a heart thing. It requires a ‘brain bypass’—connecting us straight to the Spirit of God and bypassing our intellect, our feelings, and what makes ‘sense’. 1 Corinthians 3:18-19 “Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.”
1 Corinthians 1:20-21 “So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.”
The Righteous Anti-dotes to What Makes ‘Sense’ and What feels ‘Right’
1. Generosity
2. Forgiveness
3. Love and Faith
Romans 4:16-17 “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.”
I’m not moved by what I see. I’m not moved by what I feel. I’m not moved by what I hear. Only the mighty Word of God moves me. The power of a righteous ‘confession’. (The ‘I Am...’ card)
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