Luke 12:13-21, Psalm 19:7ff.

It’s not what you posses that matters, but what possesses you. Our treasures are destined for a garage sale or a dumpster. What has enduring value?

It’s not what you possess that matters, it’s rather Who possesses you. That is at the heart of what Jesus is talking about today in the story we are going to examine together. It is recorded in the gospel of Luke chapter 12 verse 13. “Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.'”

Apparently the issue here is that this is a younger brother. The tradition in Jesus day is the oldest brother got a double inheritance. The younger brother here apparently wants more. Jesus sees into the man’s soul. He understands that this is a question not about fairness, this is a question of greed.

And so Jesus replies, verse 14, “‘who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?’ Then he said, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’ This is a powerful truth. You can have it all, but if your heart’s not right with God you’ve got nothing. Jesus seeing right into the heart of this young man says, “Be on guard about greed.”

I have to believe those words apply to you and me as well, don’t you? The Lord understands how easily we can begin focusing on stuff instead of Him. So then Jesus taught the Parable Of The Rich Man. A man focused on himself and all that he had, but the end of this parable shares God saying, “You fool, this very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have stored up for yourself?” And now is the realization that it’s not me, me, me, it’s God, God, God. We are to be rich in God.

God is not saying it’s wrong to have stuff. God’s not saying things are evil. What God is saying is that you can have everything the world has to offer, but if you do not have a relationship with the Living God, you have nothing that lasts. He wants us to seek the riches that really matter. We are to seek His kingdom because with Him we have everything! Without Him we have nothing.

No matter what our circumstances, when we know the living God we are spiritually rich!! Where do we find spiritual wealth, where do we find riches that last, where do we store up riches in heaven, Where do we find true riches.

The answer: in Jesus, the Living God!

What are the truths about spiritual riches:
1. His Word (it brings true wealth and genuine riches).
2. His Presence (God knows what we are going through. He is near to us, close at hand and when we live with that knowledge, we are rich). We are rich when we know the Living God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are created to live in relationship with God.
3. His Son (a richness that comes through the Son). Paul wrote about this from prison. He knew what it was like to suffer, but he also knew what it is like to have abundant joy and true riches. In Philippians 4:19, he says the following, “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” In the Lord Jesus Christ there are genuine riches. In the Lord Jesus Christ there is true wealth. In the Lord Jesus Christ no matter the circumstances of your life or mine, there is abundance, abundant life. That’s what Jesus gives.

Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and have it in abundance. In Christ there is true richness. There is real wealth. There is wealth that lasts. Your stock portfolio may be doing well but tomorrow it could take a hit. Your bank account may be fine right now, but tomorrow the bank could collapse. There is
only one thing that endures no matter what is going on in the world around us, and that is the very Word and Presence, the very Son of the living God. That is where real wealth is found.

There is nothing in this world more important than knowing the living God through Jesus, our Savior. It’s true for me. It’s true for you. Don’t run the risk of being a fool. Don’t persist in foolishness. Hear the voice of the Son of the living God, and understand that those who are rich in Him have something that truly lasts.

God is good. He is faithful and He keeps His promises. It’s just that simple, but it’s also that profound.

https://www.awakeusnow.com

The Parables of Jesus is part two of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Jesus is known for telling some of the greatest stories ever told. In telling these stories He uses the form of a parable which is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus’ parables resonate in every culture and in every generation around the world.

This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.

Check out this episode!

Luke 11:5-13, John 7:38.

When asked about prayer, Jesus told his listeners to ask God boldly – even “audaciously” – for the fulfillment of His promises.

In this parable, The Friend at Midnight,” Jesus takes a humorous story and converts it into a dramatic promise and powerful pledge. Because the friend at midnight, knocking on a neighbor’s door asking for food, would not relent until the friend finally got up and gave him all that he had need of. This parable is not just a funny story…. It’s a promise and pledge from God to give the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said, “If anyone believes in me, out of his innermost being will flow streams of living water.” We are told in the gospel of John chapter 7 that when Jesus said that he was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes like streams of living water flow out of every believer. It is a promise and a pledge not just to a select few, but to all, because Jesus is the one who brings abundant blessings into the lives of all those who know Him, trust Him, and follow Him.

Jesus says that if a friend will do something he doesn’t really want to get up to do, but does so because the one at his door keeps asking and knocking, just think how much more the Father in Heaven will offer to His children because they asked and kept on asking, were seeking and kept on seeking, were knocking and kept on knocking. He promises to listen and He will respond.

What God yearns for is that you and I experience all that He desires to bring into our lives. It is a joy to be guided by the Spirit of God. It is a joy to hear the Lord speaking to us in His Word, and whispering in our soul as He brings to light the teachings of Jesus and brings to mind the ways that you and I may serve and glorify Him. That’s what Jesus is offering, and he tells a funny story to get to a profound point.

So for each of us the question is: will we heed His voice? Will we listen to Him? Will we keep on asking? Will we keep on seeking? Will we keep on knocking? That is not a burden. That is not something that we say, “Ah yeh, I guess I’ve got to do this.” Instead it is the privilege of every individual who has been washed in the blood of the Lamb, redeemed by the sacrifice on the cross, renewed in hope by His resurrection from the grave, and filled with the promise of the Father for the Holy Spirit. It is not simply for believers 2000 years ago. It is for us today.

Dear friends, if ever in our nation’s history there was a time when we needed a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit this is the time. In my lifetime I’ve seen dramatic changes in the face of our nation and in our culture. So have you. Those of you who are older you’ve seen a lot, but those of you who are young you’ve seen much as well. It’s become almost a weekly phenomenon. We are shocked by what is taking place. Many people are saying, “What in the world is going on?” It has caused great debate, but at the heart is that we have wandered from the living God in this land.

In a nation that formerly was built on the values of the Bible, we have upended everything. We have chased God out of our schools. We’ve chased Him out of the public square. We have determined that those things which have been true for generations, for thousands of years, are now subject to the whim of the day and we can discard what God said in the very beginning. We have watched as families disintegrate, as moms are desperately trying to raise kids on their own while juggling a couple of jobs, abandoned by the one who gave them that child. We see young men who are basically floating on the water with every wind of teaching and belief, looking for meaning, but finding little that matters. We see a society that is filled with violent video and pornography that is simply oozing out of the woodwork and we wonder, “Why is all of this coming undone? “What can be done?”

The answer is found when people listen to the living God. It changes their attitudes, it changes their culture, and it changes even a nation. I believe we need to be asking God like never before. I believe we need to be seeking God like never before. I believe we need to be knocking like never before.

The Scripture is very clear when it says that judgment begins with the household of God, and unless and until the people of God are humble and repentant before Him, seeking the fullness of His Holy Spirit, the rest of the world will never listen. Jesus is telling us through a humorous story, but through a powerful promise, that if ever there were a day when we need to be asking and seeking and knocking, THIS IS THE DAY!

We do not look to our culture and our country for that change. We look up instead and say, “Only in the living God is there deliverance from the hell that we are making. Only in the power of the Holy Spirit is there the supernatural resource to truly change.” That is what Jesus offers. I believe that’s what we ought to be seeking, because His desire is clearly stated in Scripture, He wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

Our God is a God who yearns and longs to bless, and to bring joy, and He does that at an incredible personal cost. The cost of His own Son. It is the Son who says to you and me, “Ask, seek, knock.”

Our God desires to pour out His Holy Spirit in power!! The Father desires to pour out the fullness of the Holy Spirit. THIS IS THE DAY TO ASK! SEEK! AND KNOCK!!

https://www.awakeusnow.com

The Parables of Jesus is part two of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Jesus is known for telling some of the greatest stories ever told. In telling these stories He uses the form of a parable which is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus’ parables resonate in every culture and in every generation around the world.

This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.

Check out this episode!

As pastor takes a look at the word “Christian,” its definition, what it means for us and for the world today, we will see a blueprint God has laid out for believers not just in Antioch long ago but also for us today!

The word “Christian” came about from non-believers in the city of Antioch. As persecution caused the Jewish believers in Jerusalem to seek other cities in which to live, many chose to move to Antioch. It was a welcoming city without persecution and the message of Jesus exploded. It was then that Barnabus was sent to encourage these new believers.

Barnabus, led by the Holy Spirit, taught these new believers to HOLD FAST to…
1. God’s grace – Barnabus shared the truth of what Jesus did on the cross. In our crazy world it’s important for us to hold fast to God’s grace too, and not allow the enemy to confuse us.

2. Solid instruction – Barnabus and Paul worked to impress the truths of the God onto the hearts of believers, instructing them on how to apply God’s truths in their lives and in their hearts. They encouraged them to continue to mature in their faith and to live God-pleasing lives. In our culture, applying God’s truths is becoming increasingly confused and corrupt, so it is vital that believers today understand what God desires and what He says, not what is culturally acceptable. Solid instruction and time in the Bible are key.

3. Christian = Disciple – It was here in Antioch that the word “Christian” was first used. It was used by non believers to describe those who wouldn’t stop talking about Jesus. The literal translation is “Christ-ers.” Christian only appears 3 times in the Bible but Disciple, Jesus’ favorite word for His followers, is mentioned over 200 times in the New Testament. “Followers of The Way (Jesus)” were referred to as Christians – Disciples. Being Jesus’ disciple is what God still desires today. He does not want people to simply believe He exists – He wants individuals who willingly follow Him, know the Father, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, walk faithfully, and to seek to demonstrate what Jesus taught.

4. Prophetic gifts – God also desires that we use the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially the gift of strengthening and encouraging and comforting others. God desires that we earnestly desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit that enable us to carry out the His work.

5. Holy Spirit – The Spirit of God gives insight to what the Lord desires – and the Holy Spirit helps us follow where God leads.

What started in Jerusalem with Jews coming to know Jesus as their Messiah, spread to Antioch when persecution moved the “Followers of the Way” to this city. From there, Antioch became the hub of evangelism to the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. These believers relied on the Spirit of God and we too are to rely on the Holy Sprit, like them, to bring us:

Understanding
Conviction
Comfort
Guidance
Insight
Direction
And to lead us to faith to win the world for Christ.

The Hold Fast Antioch blueprint of Barnabus and Paul is still the blueprint God desires for us to use today. He says for us to Hold Fast to these truths:

That we live in the Grace found at the cross.
That we soak up solid instruction so that we might be filled with an understanding of God’s will and His word.
That as Disciples we talk about Jesus all the time and live for Jesus and follow Jesus.
That we seek God’s prophetic gifts so that we are able to share what God is revealing to the world.
That we keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Scripture: Acts 11:19-26 and Acts 13:1-3

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Luke 10:25-37.

Jesus often answered a question with a question. But when asked “Who is my neighbor?,” He answered by telling a story – a story that asks the same question of us.

Today’s study is The Good Samaritan, a 2000 year old parable from Jesus that still speak into our culture today.

This story starts with an expert of Jewish law asking Jesus a question. Jesus answered the question with a question. A tactic Jesus used frequently. Why? Because He knows questions are how one gets to a person’s heart. Questions force one to think things through.

Jesus answers the first few questions from the expert with questions but then He answers the “who is my neighbor” question with a parable (but it ends with a question as well.)

The Parable Jesus tells is about a man that is beaten, robbed and left for dead on the road side and the reactions of three by-passers.

1. Priest – a religious person who just ignored the beaten man and just kept on walking
2. Levite – a church worker, stops to look at the man but decides to walk away without helping
3. A Samaritan – a person not liked by the jewish community, considered the low of the low. The Samaritan cared for the injured man and took him where he received additional help and paid for it all.

Jesus ends the telling of this parable with the question, “Which of the three was a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?”

The answer is the Samaritan – the one who knew the heart of God and acted on that – the one who had mercy on the robbed and beaten man.

Jesus said to the expert, “Go and do likewise.” It’s not that we earn our way into heaven by doing nice things. There’s only one way to heaven and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Only One way into eternal life and that is the Lord Jesus Christ – through the willingly shed blood of the Lamb of God who laid down His life the sins of the world – for each of us. And when we know and understand that – it changes us from the inside out, because when the change happens we look at people differently and we’re looking at ourselves differently.

We tend to think we’re “better than so and so,” but what God is saying is – we all desperately need what only He can provide; mercy, kindness, forgiveness and life. These He offer us, not because of what WE do but because of what JESUS has
done.

There’s a realization:
– God is good – so so good
– We can no longer look at ourselves as better than others
– We want to be more and more like Jesus

We put our faith into practice by the things that we do. Fatih is shown by our behavior. It is not a matter of religion. Instead, faith tells us that because of what God has done, we want to do whatever He would have us do.

Jesus is still asking us the question today: “Which of the three was a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?” Do we, like the Samaritan, understand the heart of God and love others as we have first been loved by God. Do we hear Jesus saying
today, “Go and do likewise.”

“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

https://www.awakeusnow.com

The Parables of Jesus is part two of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Jesus is known for telling some of the greatest stories ever told. In telling these stories He uses the form of a parable which is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus’ parables resonate in every culture and in every generation around the world.

This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.

Check out this episode!

This teaching is taken from Acts 12. It is a story of Peter being set free from prison chains by an angel, but also set free from the destructive thoughts and emotions and feelings that can rise up inside us during challenging times. Peter shows us how to hold on tight to what we know about God and let Him carry us through difficult times.

In uncertain and challenging times, this story teaches us that like Peter, we are:
1. Set Free from fear – Peter was at peace, sleeping between two guards, not fearing the eminent death sentence awaiting him, when the angel came to rescue him. John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
2. Set Free from worry – Peter knew the Lord cared for him. Peter knew the Lord was at work in his life and that God had a plan and that plan is that God will win in the end! Peter did as the verse says, “Cast all your anxieties on God because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 We can rest in God’s arms – at peace – because Jesus is our Victor!
3. Set Free from despair – Peter was at peace not wringing his hands in despair or saying how can this be happening to me… Peter understood that God is in control and that God would give him everything needed to get through the trial. 1 Peter 5:10 “And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
4. Set Free from death, both the fear of death and the finality of death. We are, like Peter, to face our days with confidence and assurance. Heaven/life forever with God is a promise through our faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

God setting Peter free still speaks to us today – Our God sets us free, too!

Cling to the Lord Jesus for dear life!

Scripture: Acts 12, John 14:27, 1 Peter 5:7, 1 Peter 5:10, 2 Peter 1:11

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In the parable of the sower, Jesus compares the Word of God to seed falling on four different kinds of soil – hardened, shallow, thorny, and productive. Which soil does God’s Word find in you?

Pastor shows us a picture of a wheat field in Israel that is actually a battlefield, in the Valley of Elah, where David battled Goliath. It’s an amazing battle in which God won the victory. The picture of this field reminds us that as Jesus tells the story of The Sower, He is speaking about warfare, spiritual warfare. God desires to bring every man, woman and child into His loving presence, but there is a battle raging over the human heart and in the human soul and it is a life or death matter.

Seed has power and that’s how it is with God’s Word. His word that does not change is a powerful word. It is a life-changing word. God’s word is a Living Word, and a word for us today.

Seed= God’s Word

Four kinds of Soil. Which soil are you?
1. Pathway soil – hardened – where God’s Word (seed) cannot grow. God pleads, “break up the hard ground” Jeremiah 4:3
2. Rocky soil – shallow – where the God’s word – the Seed – sprouts and starts to grow but the roots cannot go down deep – shallow faith without deep roots cannot continue to mature. God desires we have deep roots and are firmly planted.
3. Thorny soil – divided – thorny soil is a picture of those who have divided loyalties in their lives. They know the Lord, but are also into this or that, or are enamored with things or stuck in worries about riches, paying the bills, the worries about health, the worries about how is it all going to turn out in the end, etc. These things can so quickly divert your attention from God and His Word and from the only thing that endures, and that is the living God. So He is telling us to weed out all of the thorn bushes in our lives, to make sure that those things are not choking out our faith, or driving us away from Him.
4. Good soil – produces fruit – God’s desire is that we allow His Word to penetrate and permeate our lives, that we are people of prayer, people who practice our faith, that we be faithful, trustworthy, dedicated disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we produce much fruit. That means that our lives show more and more the power of God at work in us. It means that others can see in us, living examples of what it means to walk by faith in every situation, in the good days and in the difficult times as well. Jesus is calling us to be good soil.

When Jesus told this story, The Parable of the Sower, He wasn’t simply telling a story that people could recount generation after generation. He was speaking profound divine truth. God’s Word has power. It’s transforming. In His word we have the death and resurrection of Jesus, Who gives life to all who repent and believe. His promise is that He will bring forth incredible fruit in our lives as we walk by faith, as we cling to His Word, as we trust Him in every circumstance, as we show His love to others, as we call on God in prayer, and experience daily the joy of His presence and the power His Holy Spirit.

I Peter 1:23, “You have been born again.” You been reborn. You have a new birth. How? Not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God.” It is a powerful Word. Seed does amazing things. It imparts life and God’s Word is life. Jesus Christ, the living Word of God is life. In Him there is life and hope and joy and peace.

Scripture sources: – Luke 8:4-9; 11-15; Jeremiah 4:3; 1 Peter 1:23; John 8:31-32

https://www.awakeusnow.com

The Parables of Jesus is part two of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Jesus is known for telling some of the greatest stories ever told. In telling these stories He uses the form of a parable which is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus’ parables resonate in every culture and in every generation around the world.

This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.

Check out this episode via podcast!

Watch the video from our website!

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This teaching is taken from the Acts 10, the story of Peter and Cornelius the Centurion. Both Peter and Cornelius experienced divine encounters through visions. Cornelius sees an angel with a message, Cornelius obeys and has Peter brought to his home.

Peter receives a vision in which God gives Peter eyes to see beyond his cultural rules of clean and unclean. Peter was a prisoner of his culture until God gave him a vision of truth and that breakthrough brings Peter to a Gentile’s home, Cornelius’ home, and Peter, going against the culture, obeys God and enters the house of a Gentile. Barriers were broken as Peter allowed God to broke into his heart. Peter understood that God wants ALL people to know and believe in Him.

Peter shares the gospel story with Cornelius and the people gathered to listen. Before Peter was even finished sharing, the Holy Spirit descended onto the group, just like what had happened to the disciples on Pentecost.

The ministry to the non-Jewish world takes off because God has intervened and God has directed it! God uses Peter (the apostle to the Jewish people) to bring the Gospel message to Cornelius and opens up the message of Jesus the Messiah to the Gentile world!

This story still speaks to us today:
1. Culture or Scripture – am I following my culture or am I following the Scripture?
2. Self or Spirit – will we go with our own plans or will we heed the Spirit of God?
3. Home or World – am I concerned about my own little group, the people I’m comfortable with or will I let God use me to reach all?
4. Works or Gospel – It’s not about how good I am, it’s about how good God is!

Remember: It’s about CHRIST ALONE!

It’s easy to mirror your culture, rather than reflect the teaching of the Living God. God calls us to be faithful and obedient, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, and thus reflecting the very teachings of Christ.

Scripture Romans 12:2; Acts 10

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Luke 6:47-49, John 3:16, 1 John 3.
Is your life built on a solid foundation, or on a shifting, unstable one? What did Jesus say was a solid foundation?

In our continued Two Year Study of the Gospels, we now move from the Gospel of Mark into the Gospel of Luke, specifically taking a look at the Parables of Jesus.

The first parable Pastor Dodge examines is the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders. Where we build, how we build and what we build with are important and the foundation makes all the difference.

A solid foundation can withstand the storms that a house built on sand cannot. Today’s parable demonstrates this profound truth: Jesus tells us if we come to Him and hear His Word and put those words into practice, it is like a wise man who dug down deep to get a solid foundation on the rock and when the storms of life came – that house stood strong. But the person who built quickly without a strong foundation, when the storms came that house was totally destroyed.

We want to make sure our lives are anchored and founded on something that can never be shaken, that something is a Person, the Person is Jesus.

We can’t just hear the word of God we need to put it into practice, that’s what it means to build on a solid foundation.

What does a solid foundation look like? What is it build with? What does it mean to build on a solid foundation?
1. Humble heart
   – Is where the solid foundation starts
2. Father’s love
   – The foundation is anchored in the Love of the Father.
3. Son’s Lordship
   – Jesus wants to be Lord of our lives – meaning He leads, guides and directs us.
4. Spirit’s power
   – The Spirit of God dwells within us so we are to live in the power and strength the Holy Spirit provides.
5. Grace and mercy
   – We are to reflect to others the same grace and mercy we have received from God in our own lives.
6. Willing obedience
   – We are called to listen to the Word and follow. God’s Word determines truth. Let His truth guide our lives, let His scripture speak into the now, irrespective of what the world around us may be saying. These six building blocks build a solid foundation which will not crumble.

Unless our lives are anchored on a solid foundation – The Foundation of the Living God – our lives will crumble.

Which are we, a wise builder or a foolish builder? And what are we going to do about it?

–Additionally, Pastor shares excavation information under the Synagogue of Capernaum which is centuries old. This synagogue was built on the foundation stones of another synagogue named, “The Synagogue of Jesus,” which dates back 2000 years based on artifacts found in the excavation.

The Parables of Jesus is part two of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Jesus is known for telling some of the greatest stories ever told. In telling these stories He uses the form of a parable which is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus’ parables resonate in every culture and in every generation around the world.
This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.

Check out this podcast episode!

Watch the video!

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