How Should the "Good News" Be Given?

This is what I sharred this pastt Friday at Group...I'll probably add a little more to since this is a huge topic and needs lots of discussion to make lasting convictions. As I said in the meeting your personal conviction of this area could change the entire world...

1 Peter 3:15-17
15.
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence ;
16.
and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.
17.
For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

Well...what is our motivation for giving the Gospel to others? Are we always sure that it is with the best intentions or do we have other motives for telling people a message of love? One thing is for sure though if we needed help form God to achieve salvation then we are most probably(I've been hangin around JJ a lot) are going to need his help in telling other people about it.
As men our hearts can be deceiving, Jeremiah 17:9-"The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick ; Who can understand it?" , we can not give the Gospel if our hearts are sick can we...we need God to work in our hearts to give the Gospel in the right way.
So as the verse in 1 Peter says we must sanctify Christ in our hearts. To sanctify means to set something apart and make it holy for sacred purposes. This is a process not a quick fix, this is a devotion to but Him first in your heart as soon as you get out of bed in the morning. True and meaningful grow takes time and effort, and it also might be painful for a time. This process is Jesus sanctifying our hearts so that in turn we can set him apart in our lives, without him cleansing you from the inside-out you cannot give the Gospel as he intended it.

On a side note, if you have not made a decision for Jesus Christ to be the Savior of your life then I beg you do so now. This will not really make sense if you don't and more importantly you need God's unmeasurable love in your life. If you pray to accept that Jesus paid for your sins and ask him to come into your heart then that will happen. This only takes less than a minute and the choice is yours....

Compare 1 peter with...Col 4:5-6
5.Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders , making the most of the opportunity.
you should6.Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how respond to each person.
...a big problem today in Christian culture is integrity. We say one thing and do another, which makes it hard for people to believe what we say is true. Before we go any further, remember that our God is one of grace and mercy...whatever you have done He forgives not matter what if you come to Him. Do not let the enemy confuse you, if you have believed in JC then you are His "adopted child" and have received His Spirit, he cannot reject Himself can he? (Eph1)
This is paraphrased from Ravi Zacharias-"If I were to take your clothes and rob a store would that be fair? When the police show up and see me in our clothes then go to your house and arrest you is that fair? We say someone wearing your clothes robbing the store and no one else they would say....we wear the cloak of Christ be careful how you live."
To my knowledge no one alive has physically seen Jesus so, when people want a tangible example of someone who is supposed to know him they look to Christians. We are the only example they have, if we don't have good integrity then we are lying to people about Jesus.
When giving the Gospel this issue comes up in being judgmental and angry towards people. On campus we have a group of people who use microphones to preach a message of hate to the campus. This is not the way Jesus wants his love to be told, and on the flip side "I don't need to tell people about God, I live my life as an example so they know I' a Christian," when you get down to it that is like the biggest cope out I've ever heard.
We are supposed to glorify God with our lives and our words. How does God feel when we don't and try to make ourselves look like something we're not?....
Numbers 20:7-13
7.
and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
The Water of Meribah
8.
"Take the rod ; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink."
9.
So Moses took the rod from before the LORD, just as He had commanded him;
10.
and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, "Listen now, you rebels ; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock ?"
11.
abundantlyThen Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod ; and water came forth, and the congregation and their beasts drank.
12.
in the sightBut the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."
13.
Those were the waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with the LORD, and He proved Himself holy among them.

0.

Because Moses tried to make it look like it was him who brought the water he was not allowed to go to the promised land. In what ways are you doing this in your life now?

I will post the rest later

I am the Workmanship of God

Ephesians 2:10 NAS

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

The definition of a workmanship according to Webster: 2: the art or skill of a workman ; also : the quality imparted to a thing in the process of making workmanship>

Like Mikey said, we are all made in the image of God and have value because of that. That cannot be redefined no matter what we do. If God has adopted us as children is there more for us ? There certainly is since we have to Holy Spirit to teach us and now God has direct access to our hearts(if we listen to him and are humble that is). So what is the deal about the verse saying that these works were prepared for us beforehand? Does that mean no matter what I do, I will always be within God's will?

No...of course not, that won't be until we're in Heaven with him. Secondly, what does that tid bit imply for your life? If there are people or circumstances that God has for you, what does that change for how you live your life now? Are you seeking to be the man God needs you to be/wants you to be? As I see it if you have a free will to do as you please whether it is God's best or not, and God has opportunities for you life to take hold of him and experience his best. The question being asked now is if I'm looking out for those opportunities today to find God's best.

You might ask," Well isn't God in control of everything in life and no matter what I do Heaven is still my ultimate destination right?" Yes...that is true but, why do I get the feeling that a justification is coming up for a habit that God would not approve of. I have never heard a statement like this come from person who is not falling in an area of character. A big issue with that question also is man's free will, does it matter what I do in light of God's sovereignty? Well ...I am not a very smart man but, it seems to me that I should changes the things I can and leave the stuff I am ignorant to or helpless to change up to Christ. If God controls all our actions then we are robots...if that were true then we would all be like Jesus in character, since that is not so, I'm willing to bet that we are not like robots. Generally speaking, this argument is brought up when someone is unwilling to let go of some secular habits. What sense does it make to say that prepared works means I can do whatever I want and still fulfill them? It doesn't, so we should realize that it is up to us to be humble and alert of opportunities to be more like Christ.

Guys please comment on this.

May God's Peace Rest in Your Hearts,

Kyle

Imago Dei

Well, good afternoon once again! It is that time of week that I am sure you all look forward to so fervently. I am all out of lab and good to go.

I was pleasantly surprised at the response to last weeks e-mail. I know for sure it got at least one motor turning and incited an awesome, edifying discussion on the role of mercy in the government, the purpose of the government and other related topics. As I was attempting to play Devil's Advocate, I posed this question: can a non-Christian genuinely display mercy?

As I briefly tossed around the notion in my head, I concluded in the negative. I figured people from the world would always have some sort of ulterior motive that would persuade them to act mercifully and therefore that act was not genuine.

But then as I discussed this even further with 2 people at the Women's Conference, I had a rather interesting paradigm shift. You see, what I failed to recognize is that all men (i.e. people, not literally "men") were created with the imago Dei (image of God - Gen 1:27). All people, were created in the image of God, this is not just exclusive to Christians. As a result, everyone has the ability to portray all the characteristics that God does (mercy, grace, etc.). And when you think of this, it makes sense: how else would parents [who do not fear God] be able to show love and affection to their child?

I think it is critical to recognize this attribute in every person. It definitely is a great way of understanding each person's worth in the eyes of God. If each and every person has the very attributes of God, it logically follows that He cares for them -- at least enough to infuse them with His own characteristics.

This is why the claim that people make in efforts to reconcile the creation narrative with the scientifically accepted theory of evolution is false. The imago Dei is precisely what separates man from beast. Evolution essentially equates man with beast, but since we are fundamentally different from the rest of creation, it is clear to see that it is just impossible. We were created and therefore could not have evolved from lesser species'.

So yea, it was a very cool (and aided) epiphany!

MTI

"Sanctification" - Religion VS Relationship (Continued)

"It's NOT about making Jesus Christ Lord OVER my life, but about making Him Lord OF my HEART. Many do the first, but few do the latter." - JJ

Let me explain…

I believe that many well meaning Christians after trusting in Jesus Christ as their Savior begin to put a good effort into changing their lives. We go to church, we try to read the Bible every day, we try to obey the Bible, we try to get as involved as we can in "ministry" serving the church, and so on... This is all good, but I believe as Christians, we have neglected and lost focus in our discipleship of new believers in the most important area…

“But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.
- 1 Peter 3:15

Let me break down this verse and then continue to explain my thought above…

Step 1) Sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart (Surrender and brokenness before the Lord; total Surrender of all your life. Trusting God in all areas of your life, not just your eternal destiny)

Step 2) Be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you (your testimony and sharing the gospel)

Step 3) YET with gentleness and reverence. (Showing love, compassion, kindness and gentleness, and demonstrating God’s love to others, not just “Bible Beating.”)

Ok, so what I was saying before… I believe that our Christianity has become all about religion and we have neglected the most important process of becoming truly broken before the Lord in total and complete surrender of our hearts (lives). When someone accepts Jesus Christ into his/her life, we quickly get that person plugged into the church, we start giving them Bible studies, we begin to train them in how to share their faith with others (Step 2,3) and we complete bypass the most important step, “Sanctification of Jesus Christ as Lord in our hearts.”

I believe that the church is doing great at sharing the good news of eternal life. The Great Commission is being obeyed. God’s church is growing, but I think that not enough real true, DEEP healing is occurring in the lives of those we disciple. Don’t get me wrong, I think the healing process is occurring. God begins that process the moment we open our hearts to Him and we accept Him as our personal Savior, but I think that the Healing process has been neglected when it comes to discipleship of new believers. Why do I think so, because of my own experience, because of this NEW place in my life of brokenness before my God and King, because of the amazing healing that has occurred in my heart, because God has been showing me what the process was in my life, because as my heart has been healed, and because I now can see past my own wounds and hearts. Before, I was neglecting “step 1” because I was wounded and hurt myself. I could not see past my own insecurities, sins, hurts, pride, etc. So as I gave of myself and shared my life with others, as a man who still needed healing, I could not help others in that process of healing in them. As I stand now, healed, I look about me and I see SO MUCH hurt within the walls of the church. Yes, church is a place for those who need healing, but I find the ratio of those who are healed enough to help others in that process to those who need healing to be way off! The pastors cannot do it all...

My prayer is that God continues to do the Miracles (as He has been doing in me) and that more believers may come to that place of 100% brokenness before Him. That they may be healed to the point where they can turn around and help lead those around them to that same place of brokenness before God.


Disclaimer: Don’t miss-understand, One ONLY needs to believe in Jesus Christ and put their trust in Him for eternal life in order to be saved (Titus 3:5, Eph. 2:8-10, John 3:16, II Cor. 5:21). I just think that God as our Heavenly Father wishes to heal our broken hearts, so that we may better serve Him. God wants to do great things in us and through us (Eph. 2:10). Again, we first need a Savior, we then choose to make Him our Lord. But we ONLY need to "Believe in Him." - If you do not know how you can be 100% sure you are going to Heaven the day you die, click here and find out how you could know. I serve God, not for my salvation, but out of gratitude for what He has done for me. I serve God because I love Him!...

Disclaimer 2: The growing process is on-going. God is still working in my life. Though I find myself in an amazing place of surrender before my Lord, surrender is something that must occur daily as we make choices and continue to grow closer to God.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…” – Hebrews 12:1-3

Continuing: I know that for me, I continued to put a big effort into “growing in Christ” and I put a big effort into reading the Bible, and in serving, but in my heart, there were many areas that I had not surrendered 100% unto the Lord. I was trying to obey God, and I was giving Him most of my heart, but I had areas in my Heart that still needed healing and areas in my life that I was not putting my complete trust in God. I had desires I was not surrendering before the Lord. I did had a desire to serve Him, but in my own terms. I had insecurities that I was not surrendering to the Lord and trusting Him. I appeared “healed” on the outside. If you asked anyone, I have been a “model” Christian all my life, but on the inside, there was still much hurt, shame, insecurities, etc. and it took God a long time to heal me. I was “image managing” my life. Today, I am a broken person before my loving Heavenly Father. To quote Mercy Me’s song “No More No Less” …

“I'm not trying to hide anything
I wear it on my sleeve
I'm not trying to be something I'm not
This is all I've got
I'm not trying to re-invent the wheel
Just trying to be real
I'm not trying to say follow me
I'm not the one who leads

Let me introduce myself to you
This is who I am
No more, no less
I am just a man who understands
Because of [God] I'm blessed
No more, no less

I'm not trying to prove anything
It's all about the change

I hope you stare just long enough to see
The heart that's beating here inside of me
Beyond all the things you may think you know
I'm just a kid trying to make it home, that's it
No more, no less”

You know, the world does not need more religion. Most people (if not all) are religious in some way or another. This is what God calls pure and undefiled religion…

“…to visit orphans and widows in their distress…”

Religion is good, but God wants our hearts, not just our good deeds.

Friend, if you do not know where you are going the day your die, TODAY is a good day to find out. We do not know what tomorrow may bring, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the day I die, I will go to Heaven to be with God. You too can be 100% sure that you will go to heaven... Click Here and learn more. Don't wait till tomorrow, Today is the day you can put your trust in God as your personal Savior.

to learn more click here: www.jjsierra.com/theanswer

If you have any questions, if you don't understand something I said above, please feel free to send an email at: jj@coffeecupapologetics.com

I leave you with these last two quotes…

“We must give God and others their rightful place in our hearts.” – John Ortberg

“We trust God with our eternal destiny, but we have a hard time trusting Him with the rest of our lives.” - JJSierra

Religion VS Relationship

"It's NOT about making Jesus Christ Lord OVER my life, but about making Him Lord OF my HEART. Many do the first, but few do the latter." - JJ

My Quiet Time

14How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not
believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have
not heard? 15And how shall they hear without a preacher?
And how shall they preach unless they are sent?
Romans 10:14,15 (NKJV)

21But to Israel he says: "All day long i have stretched out My
hands to a disobedient and contrary people."
Romans 10:21(NKJV)

We have been sent by GOD to preach his gospel and his word. Not everyone will accept what we have to say. That does not mean we have to give up. We also have to be clear in what we say. If we are trying to reach out to someone one who does not share the same vocabulary we do, it will be hard to try to reach them. If we have no other way of talking to them, I think we must be clear and explain everything we say.

This is something I am currently working on. It is very is for me to be talking to someone and using words that I use among some brothers, but the person I am talking to will have no idea what I am saying.

An Old Man and His Smokes, The New Man and His Heart

Man...I have not blogged in a while...here is the latest on what God has been teaching me. And this past week I bought New Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell, and I am very excited to post in the future on what I will learn.

At one of our last meetings it was Pablo, Josiah, and me at a Starbucks in Canton right after our activity at a nursing home. It was just the three of us for the meeting and a couple new people came for the first time too.

First, watch the video here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLY7yI1xV-M

We read the entire Chapter of Romans 8, and talked about the Holy Spirit.

First, the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is the same one that lives inside us. We have the power to overcome the world at our fingertips everyday. The problem however is that these tents we live in are in the way of God's will and his love. Our sinful nature or default modes as Mandy says are hostile towards God. Paul said that the mindset of the flesh is death because nothing it produces can please God and lead to spiritual death. However we are in the Spirit...which means our minds are supposed to be on peace and life, this is what it means to bring every thought captive to the throne...that we humble ourselves and check our attitude to see if it falls in line with Jesus.

The Bible says that our flesh could be compared to an old man who is depraved and has sin written in his heart. Imagine a ragged old beggar who keeps bothering you just so you can buy him some smokes or a drink. This man can look as far as his next high, drink, etc. That is who we were before we came to Christ and accepted his love, however, that does not get rid of the old man inside or his addictions. When we are reborn then a new man is created to the glory of God and he is what will be raised up on the last day. I am not going to even attempt to describe the image of this man because it would be an injustice to the workmanship of God. This is the heart of peace and life that the Father has given us, its desire is to bring a sword to evil in the world and to bring light to the rest of the lost. This man is in a war with the old man from the moment of his birth and will be until he is raised on that day. So how does this man grow from being a baby to a warrior for God? Walking in the Spirit....

How can we know for sure if you are in the spirit or not?....Well, for starters have you accepted that Christ came down and paid for your sins with his very life, and then ascended to Heaven to be with you forever? If you have not made a sincere decision for Christ then you don't have The Helper AKA The Holy Spirit, so make that choice to accept that God chose to love you and everyone else despite who we "really" are on the inside. If you are having trouble understanding this then email me, you can also ask God to give you understanding then read THE GOSPEL OF JOHN ....If you have already made that choice then this next paragraph is for you.

If you have accept Christ...TERRIFIC...NOW WHAT? Well, if you have not looked at that video then do so now. Notice in the beginning that they energetic and are just going through the motions, much like religion asks us to do...to go through the motions. When they start singing it's a bunch of mumbles and weighted hearts. So what do they do, they go back to basics and just do exercises...isn't that a waste of time and even embarrassing? Well when the start singing again it was not embarrassing but amazing at all but beautiful.

The concept is really quite simple...you have to feed the new man inside you to over power the old man. Which ever one is stronger in the moment is going to be the one who wins. So we have to feed and workout that new so the old man does not have any opportunities to grow. Because how can something grow if it does not have the means to do so? It can't...so create those moments for the new man to grow and read God's word so that you have knowledge of the truth. Finally, it won't happen unless you decide for it to happen.

God Bless'
Kyle Howington