Unstuck

Why does regret tend to paralyze us? We look back at a time, a decision, a series of choices that if we had the power to change it we would. The pain, the brokenness, the desire to make things right again seems to be as possible as counting grains of sand on a seashore. The result is a life that seems stuck. We are ready to move on but we would love to go back. This tension is one that many live in and many don’t know what to do.

So what do we do? We can’t stay stuck yet we aren’t sure how to move on? Lets take a walk to the cross where our Savior took all my regret, my pain, and the brokenness of all my choices upon Him. He knew the power of regret and the hold it can have on a life caught between what it could be and what it really is. He took the beating. He took insults. He took the pain and agony associated with the cruelty of the crucifixion and He died for me.

A sinless man, a Holy God did for me what I could never do for myself. He set me free not only from the penalty of my sin but showed me a path out. A life free from regret and living stuck. A life whose slate has been wiped clean by God’s amazing forgiving grace.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

-Colossians 2:13-14

Here is my choice today in light of this amazing truth. I am going to live UNSTUCK. Knowing and believing that God has willingly cancelled everything that REGRET urges me to hold on to…wanting and wishing to change…I am letting it go. I am going to quit punishing myself for debts that God has already canceled! FREEDOM is waiting at the foot of the cross.

Passion Week

Passion Week, also known as Holy Week, is the time from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday which is also called Resurrection Sunday.

Passion Week became the name for this week because in this week Jesus revealed His passion for us in the suffering that He willingly went through on our behalf.

After everything that he has done for us we should be passionate in our worship and in our proclamation of His Gospel! As He suffered for us, so should we be willing to suffer for the cause of following Him and proclaiming the message of His death and resurrection.

A CHRONOLOGICAL LOOK AT HOW JESUS SPENT HIS LAST WEEK:

Saturday and Sunday

Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, arriving at Bethany six days before Passover, on Saturday. Jesus was anointed at Simon the leper's house. On Sunday, a great crowd came to Bethany to see Jesus.

Monday

The next day Jesus entered Jerusalem, visited the temple and returned to Bethany. It was Nisan 10, when the Passover lambs were selected. Likewise, the entry into Jerusalem was the day when Jesus presented Himself as Israel's Paschal Lamb.

Tuesday

On the way from Bethany to Jerusalem, Jesus cursed the fig tree, and in Jerusalem He challenged the temple practice of selling on the premises. Some religious leaders began to plot ways to kill Him. That evening Jesus left Jerusalem, presumably returning to Bethany.

Wednesday

On the way to Jerusalem, the disciples saw the withered fig tree. At the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus' authority and wisdom was questioned by some religious leaders. That afternoon Jesus went to the Mount of Olives and delivered His discourse to those assembled. Two additional things occurred on that day: (1) Jesus predicted that in two days He would be crucified at the time of the Passover; and (2) Judas planned the betrayal of Jesus with some religious leaders.

Thursday

Jesus and His disciples prepared the Passover lamb, and they had their seder meal together. Jesus shared heartfelt words with His disciples and offered an intercessory prayer in their behalf. They arrived at the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus suffered in agony awaiting what was to come. Later that night Jesus was betrayed and arrested. He was tried first by Annas and later by Caiaphas and other religious leaders.

Friday

Early in the morning, Jesus was tried by the Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod Antipas, and Pilate again. He was led to the cross and crucified at 9 A.M. and died at 3 P.M. and was buried later that day. Jesus died at the time when the Passover lambs were being sacrificed.

Saturday

Jesus' body was in the tomb during the Sabbath, and the Pharisees hired Roman guards to keep watch of the tomb.

Sunday

Christ was resurrected from the dead. His was the first of many resurrections to come, in which it was a type of first fruits offering. (First-fruit offerings were made on the day after the Sabbath.)

Jesus Disciples Share The Gospel

 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

1 Peter 2:9

The majority to Christ followers talk about the gospel among other believers instead of sharing it to apathetic, even skeptical, unbelievers. We need to share the good news with those that haven't heard the good news and don't know anything about it.

For many people, evangelism does not come naturally, we sense the social awkwardness of talking about spiritual things. It is okay to be an introvert, Pastor Buff can share the gospel in ways that your personality may not allow but at the same time we cannot allow Satan to use our fear to silence us.

A believer is accountable only to say yes to God’s call. It is the Lord’s responsibility to equip the chosen for the work He’s assigned. A personal plan has been mapped for each believer’s life, and God provides the personality and temperament that suits. Then He adds skills that can be developed and the spiritual gifts necessary to fulfill His mission.

God makes His call with wisdom and discernment. He knows why He created you and what you’re capable of accomplishing in His strength.

-Charles Stanley

You can easily begin by building a relationship with the people that you share with. Show them love, show them that you care, then they will be interested in hearing your story. God will give you opportunity and he will give you the words.

We must evaluate whether we spend most of our time talking about the Gospel with believers or telling the Gospel to unbelievers.

God's Fame

For everything comes from Him and exists by His power and is intended for His glory. All glory to Him forever! Amen.

Romans 11:36

The reason for doing evangelism is the very same reason for our existence. It is all for bringing glory to God.

What is glory? Perhaps the best way to think of glory is our word “fame.” We live to declare the wonders of God, or to make Him famous. When we love others with God’s love, or give Him thanks in all things, we are singing His praises– making Him famous. When we choose not to sin, we declare to the world that God is more satisfying than sin.

People Are Lost

Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

2 Corinthians 4:4

This is the tragic, but accurate, depiction of the state of people apart from Christ. Satan is holding them hostage, keeping them in prison, and blinding them to the Gospel.

We Are Ambassadors

So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

2 Corinthians 5:18-20

God has entrusted us with the responsibility of being His ambassadors. We are his representatives in this foreign land.

When we proclaim the good news, we grow as Christ’s disciples. Evangelism opens us up to the adventure of obeying God and collaborating with him in ways that strengthen our faith and transform our thinking.

Jesus Disciples Are Not Working Alone

The Holy Spirit changes us and gives us power to live for God.

Matthew 28:20  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

John 14:16-18  And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn't looking for Him and doesn't recognize Him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans, I will come to you.

Yes we live in a gospel community doing life together and helping each other but I want to talk about a much better helper that we cannot be without if we are going to grow as a disciple or if we are going to make new disciples.

The work of the Holy Spirit is a part of the process of becoming more like Jesus, his work starts with giving us life when we were spiritually dead and he helps us to move through all of the stages of spiritual growth from infants all the way to a spiritual adult.

Of all the gifts given to man by God, there is none greater than the presence of the Holy Spirit, He has many functions, roles, and activities so we will only take a look at a few of them:

The Holy Spirit guarantees my salvation.

Ephesians 1:13-14 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

God grants to us His Holy Spirit as the certain pledge that we are His forever and shall be saved in the last day. He has saved us and given us His Spirit to renew us and cleanse us from the desires of the flesh. He produces in our hearts the evidence that we are accepted by God, that we are regarded as His adopted children, that our hope is genuine and that our salvation is sure.

The Holy Spirit gives me power to live for God.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

The proof of the Spirit’s presence is the work that He is doing in my heart. The cold indifferent and unloving heart will become tender and compassionate and we will respond to God's commands and conform to His will for our lives.

My character will look a lot more like God's character. (Ephesians 4:21-24, John 16:7-11) The power that He provides will help me to live with the fruit of the Spirit. My life will have "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23)

The Holy Spirit helps me tell my story to people that don't know the gospel.

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere--in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Jesus disciples were appointed to tell what they had seen and what they had heard. They saw his life, his character, his suffering and his teaching. They saw His life, death and resurrection and they were about to see him ascend to heaven. Jesus had changed their lives dramatically and he wanted them to tell their story. (Acts 4:33)

Jesus also wants us to tell our story and he has given us the Holy Spirit to help us have the words, the timing for our words and the power to go and share the good news. The more we tell our story and talk about how God has intervened in our life, the more people will begin to realize that God is for real, miracles do happen, and they will see that He can change their life too.

I am not able to live the life that God wants me to live without the Holy Spirit's power, I need to remember that I don't have to be more like Jesus in my own strength, the power to be who he wants me to be can only come from Him.

Help me Lord to be serious about my mission here on earth and help me to rely on the Holy Spirit to change me and then help me spread the good news about what you have done.

Here I Am, Send Me

According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the word sent is used about 690 times in the Bible, 184 of those times being in the New Testament. The word go is used 251 times in the New Testament. Jesus says or implies 40 times in the New Testament that He was sent by God. Clearly, God is a sender by nature.

In the Old Testament, He sent prophets, angels and the very special Angel of the Lord. In the New Testament, He sent not only angels, but John the Baptist, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, among others. Jesus sent the apostles, and He has sent us.

When watching news stories, one cannot help but notice the fallen state of the world. How can we, as individuals, make an impact for the better?

Each year, we honor the life and advocacy of Annie Walker Armstrong (1850-1938) when we give to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American missions. As a tireless servant of God and a contagious advocate and supporter of missions efforts throughout the world, Annie Armstrong led women to unite in missions endeavors that ultimately led to the formation of Woman’s Missionary Union, for which she served as the first corresponding secretary.

Annie believed in and followed Christ with all her heart, but it was her hands that expressed that belief in tangible ways. She spent a great amount of time typing and handwriting letters in support of missions. Many of these letters were quite lengthy and all were filled with conviction that more could and should be done in our missions efforts.

Annie never hesitated to use her hands to reach out to hug a child or distribute food, clothing and the Word of God to those in need. Her hands held her own Bible as she studied to know how best to share Gods love with others. And, most important, Annie was a woman of prayer, folding her hands in prayer to intercede for the missionaries and for those they were helping discover Christ.

You can help push back lostness in North America by:

Praying Fervently

Pray for the mission field where you are and for the pastors and ministry leaders committed to the area where you live. Pray for the North American Mission Board missionaries working to reach the US and Canada with the power of the gospel. (Galatians 6:9–10.) The world needs for the Lord to intervene now more than ever before. God says in 2 Chronicles 7:14 if His people will humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from their evil ways, He will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.

Pray that Christians worldwide will stand firm in the faith and not stand idly by while darkness takes over. Ask for corporate forgiveness and determine to be obedient even when it is hard.

Giving Generously

God’s not asking for a gift that will impress people sitting in your pew or standing in the pulpit. He’s asking for sincere, sacrificial gifts that will glorify Him. Ask the Lord what amount you should give to support missionaries and church planters in North America through the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. (Luke 6:38)

Going Intentionally

Determine to eagerly raise your hand and say, “Here I am. Send me.” Ask God what your “Send me” looks like.

Maybe it’s ministering in the retirement community across town. Maybe it’s building relationships at the school in your neighborhood. Maybe it’s planting a church six states away. Wherever God puts upon your heart, pray that He will prepare the mission field there and that He will prepare your heart to serve there. (Exodus 4:12)

OFFERING FAST FACTS:

✔  Purpose: To support the efforts of the North American Mission Board missionaries and church planters as they push back lostness in the United States and Canada. ✔  Amount of AAEO used to support missionaries and their work: 100% ✔  Amount of NAMB budget that comes from AAEO: 49% ✔  Amount of NAMB budget from Cooperative Program: 38% ✔  Year offering started: WMU started it in 1895 ✔  Amount given in 1895: $5,000 + ✔  Amount given to AAEO fiscal year Oct 1, 2014 – Sept 30, 2015: $58 million ✔  Year offering named after Annie Armstrong: 1934 ✔  Offering Goal for 2016: $70 million

[su_button url="https://anniearmstrong.com/donate/" target="blank" radius="0"]Donate Online[/su_button] [su_spacer] Donate by mail directly to the North American Mission Board at: North American Mission Board P.O. Box 116543 Atlanta, GA 30368-6543 Make sure to indicate “Annie Armstrong Easter Offering” on your check.

Your Glory - Nothing But The Blood

https://youtu.be/XoyttwTgQ30

My life is Yours My hope is in You only And my heart You hold Cause You made this sinner holy Holy holy

My life is Yours My hope is in You only And my heart You hold Cause You made this sinner holy Holy holy

Your glory is so beautiful I fall onto my knees in awe And the heartbeat of my life Is to worship in Your light Cause Your glory is so beautiful Your glory is so beautiful

Glory, glory hallelujah Jesus, You are good

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus

Oh! Precious is the flow That makes me white as snow No other fount I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus