You Matter: God Wants You

by Rick Warren

“Jesus said, ‘Come down quickly; for I am going to be a guest in your home today!’” Luke 19:5 (LB)

Zacchaeus’ appearance made him feel insecure and lonely. His accusers made him feel bitter and resentful. And his sins made him feel guilty and ashamed. So what did Jesus do? He invited himself to Zacchaeus’ house for dinner. He didn’t even wait for an invitation.
Jesus knew Zacchaeus’ guilt and shame would prevent him from even daring to invite Jesus to his home. So he took the initiative.

I know that you have things you are ashamed of in your life; we all do. Jesus doesn’t want to condemn you; he wants to change you. He wants you to know him and he wants you to love him as much as he loves you.

You know the story of the Prodigal Son. He leaves home, blows his inheritance on wild living, and when he comes back home his father runs out to meet him and gives him a big hug. He doesn’t say, “Go take a bath, get a shave and then I’ll hug you.” He accepts him where is he and walks him back home.

No matter what you’ve done, no matter what condition you’re in right now, God wants you. The starting point is to let go of your pride and admit you’ve sinned. That’s the starting point. God saves humble people who admit they need his help.

Jesus says, “I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you with me” (Revelation 3:20 NCV). He wants to dine with you; he want to party with you. He wants to get to know you and he wants you to get to know him and have a relationship.

Responsibility in Family

Past. Melody vd Merwe

17 April 2011 (am)

Eph 5:22+23

Intro: As children of God – blood-bought, spirit-filled children of the most high God we have to walk in the light of who we are.

Ø      Royal family – etiquette – protocol – watch.

Ø      The word is our standard – our rule book protocol. How we should live and act in every circumstance.

Eph – Who we are in Christ – Chapters 1-3

How we should live – Chapters 4-6

Ø      Be filled with the Spirit – Eph 5:18 – Speaking in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Ø      Holy Spirit indwells us.

Ø      Holy Spirit enables us – power brakes – power steering.

V22)

WHAT?

SUBMIT – subject hupotasso – to stand under subordination, obedience, subjection.

WHO?

YOURSELVES – very important!!

TO WHOM?

YOUR OWN HUSBAND – not men!!!

HOW?

As the Lord!!

Submission can only be given on the basis of trust!! To believe God’s word Trust God & His Word.

Jesus submitted to the Father, being equal to God – obedient even unto death on the cross.

Submission requires faith and trust.

Jesus and healing of centurion’s servant.

Luke 7:1-10 – Jesus says “such great faith”.

Unsaved Husband? Carnal Husband?

1 Pet 3:1-6

v 23+24) Christ – Head

Husband – Head of wife

Church subject – under Christ

Wives be subject to their own husbands in everything. – Not some things.

V 25) WHAT? Husbands LOVE your wives.

How? Just as Christ also loved the Church and gave himself for her,

V28) WHO? So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies.

Notes Kingdom Dynamics (Spirit Filled Life Bible NKJV) -HUSBANDS

1 Pet 3:7 Kingdom Dynamics (Spirit Filled Life Bible NKJV)

LOVE 1 Cor 13:4-7 – Love languages

Jesus –             1) Worship

2) Love what He loves, obey – keep my commands

Wife respect her husband. (v33)

Worship Comes Before Transformation

Worship Comes Before Transformation

by Buddy Owens
“As she stood behind Jesus at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.” Luke 7:38 (NIV)

There are some powerful lessons about worship and about the transformation that happens in the life of a worshiper in Luke 7. The sinful woman in this story exhibited four traits we need to take note of:
She worshiped boldly. This woman took a risk coming to the Pharisee’s house. She could have been thrown out or stoned, but she came boldly. She marched right into the house, into the dining room, into Jesus’ presence. Why would she do that? She was looking for forgiveness. She was looking for hope and acceptance. She was looking for some kind of change in her life. She was not there just to pay homage to some holy guy.
She worshiped humbly. She wept in Jesus’ presence, wetting his feet with her tears. Then, in her deep sorrow, she got down on her knees, showing her submission to God, and dried his feet with her hair.
She worshiped honestly. Many biblical scholars believe the sinful woman must have been a prostitute because she brought an expensive jar of perfume with her. This jar of perfume had significance – it represented her life; it represented her background; it was one of the tools of the trade. When she came to Jesus with that jar and poured it on his feet, it was her confession. She was honestly telling Jesus who she was.
She worshiped extravagantly. She showed Jesus extravagant worship by using a jar of perfume that probably cost her an entire year’s wages. And she didn’t just dab on a couple of drops. Luke 7:38 says she poured the perfume on his feet. Why? This was her opportunity to come clean, to meet God, worship him and be transformed. It was her chance to start over.

You don’t have to clean up your act before you can worship God. Worship him and He’ll clean up your act. You don’t repent and confess in order to earn forgiveness. You change your ways     because you’ve been forgiven.
Romans 12 says that we offer ourselves to the Lord in worship so that he can transform us. It’s the worship that comes first. That’s what we see in this woman’s life.

Walk Wisely

Past. Melody vd Merwe

10 April 2011 (am)

Eph 5:6-19

Intro: The Holy Spirit through Paul has been instructing us how to live and walk in the position that we’ve been placed through the price Christ has paid for us and the new birth. Instructing us what our responsibilities are.

Decide again if we believe the Word of God, God speaking to us. 2 Tim 3:16 all scripture is given by inspiration of God – God breathed.

Book of instructions – commands – telling and showing us how to live.

V 6 + 7

People teaching in Paul’s time that certain types of sin and disobedience were acceptable or didn’t matter to God. This was a Greek way of thinking – the body doesn’t matter only the spirit of man is important to God!! Not so.

1 Cor 3:16-19

Must not choose to continue in fleshly sins once you know better.

We must avoid such behaviour, and avoid people who believe such behaviour is acceptable. (Believers – not sinners)

Eph 5:8-10. Walk as children of light.

Study the word to find out what is good and right before God. Pray for Holy Spirit revelation. Ask a mature believer – (Not one who will tickle your ear). Seek godly council. If in doubt – cut it out – allow the peace of God to lead you.

Be a sweet aroma in God’s nostrils.

To have the light of the Word within you and then (CHOOSE) to walk in darkness is to completely destroy your witness for Jesus Christ.

When you CHOOSE to SIN or ACT UPON MAN’S WISDOM instead of God’s word, you deny the Holy Spirit any opportunity to work through you.

Holy Spirit produced fruit is marked by GOODNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS and TRUTHFULNESS.

Paul doesn’t only say, “Don’t Sin” he goes a step further and says “Don’t associate” with those who choose to sin. Speak out against their sin.

Eph 5:11-13

Ø      We are not to have “fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.”

We are to avoid sinning! Not seek out, go along with, party with, or associate routinely with the sinful activities of unbelievers. We are to have absolutely NO ties with sin.

We are not to dismiss sin or attempt to justify it, either in ourselves or in others. We are to EXPOSE (reprove) sin.

We are to: Stand against sin, speak against sin and in the face of sin, do the very opposite.

Ø      Display the love and righteousness of God.

We must not even speak about the works of darkness.

Movies, newspapers, magz, news…

v     Apatche & pumpkin. (become familiar)

V 14

WAKE UP!

Although sin is pleasurable for a season in the end, it always produces DEATH.

Some people are so tied up in sin and worldly things that you would never know by looking at them that they are believers.

If you are born again but persist in works of darkness, its as though you are asleep among the dead.

If its you – WAKE UP! Look where you’re going.

The only way to be the light and walk in the light is to walk with wisdom Himself – Jesus is wisdom. 1 Cor 1:30

John 1:1+14 … in the beginning … v14) and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…

When we walk with Jesus, have fellowship with Him, seek His council at all times, and love Him and worship Him as we go about our day, we will walk in the light and grow in the light.

1 John 1:5-7

Simply Put:  When we walk in the light, we will be the light!

Eph 5:15

Walk in wisdom. Prov 4:5-9

Walk in God’s wisdom – The Word.

Circumspectly – depicts perfection in the sense of being exact, careful, and accurate, and it leaves no room for any quality or characteristic of life that is undisciplined, untrained, unholy, ungodly or unrighteous.

Ø      Walk focused entirely on God  His will, His purpose.

Eph 5:16 TIME. 86400 seconds in a day.

Eph 5:17 Walk in the wisdom of God.

How can we do this?

Eph 5:18+19

Be filled with the Spirit – continuous present tense.

John 16:13 …however, when He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth…

Spiritual songs, Psalms, hymns, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.

Choosing to walk in darkness when you have the light in you.

We must walk in His way.