Jesus tone and language changed between chapter 5 and chapter 6 of Matthew. Jesus moves from your public life to your private life. There should be no difference. No conflict between them. Jesus had an audience of the working poor which included most of his disciples. There were Jews, Greeks, Romans in the crowd and a few rich folks. The working poor would be those who earn just enough to buy their daily food. The whole family had to work to survive. Jesus message was about spending, saving and giving. How do American’s spend their money? Let us look at some big money people. NFL football players by a majority (68%) are broke after 2 years of retirement. Almost all Lotto winners are broke within one year of their winnings! Where is our heart? Money follows the heart. We are to save to give when there is a need. We are to be good stewards. If we spend all we have then nothing is left to help those in need. Proverbs6:6- Watch the ant! We are to spend less than we make just as the ant eats less than he gathers. We are to save to be generous at every opportunity. Matthew 6:22. Watch your eyes! What you focus on will be what you worship! Your eyes will focus your heart on treasures and your soul will bond to those things. Luke 16:10 How we handle money tells a lot about ourselves. He that is faithful with little will be faithful with much. This passage discounts Christians who say I will give when I make more money. Most people worry about money. Americans only give about 2% to charities. God does not have enough generosity among His people. Matthew 6:24 You cannot serve God and money and have two masters. The Lord says to tithe, save and give. God wants to be respected as, “Lord of All!” Begin to act like God owns it all! The love of money is the root of all evil. Who do you love? Money is not evil unless you love it! Think about it all the time. Love God and money will follow you enough to supply your needs and the needs of others. Love God and money will leave no sorrows. Love money and it will be a cruel task master. Money is not evil unless we use it to replace worship of the living God. Source; Sermon notes from message given by Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tag: life
Christians! Stand Your Ground! Daniel 12:3
Latest IRS revelation is agency is targeting those who give 10 percent or more to charities? That means Christians who follow the Bible and tithe 10 percent or more of their income are targets! The average American gives 2 percent of their income to charities. We as Christians know 10 percent giving is the least we can give. I am 64 years old and have never living here in America all my life seen such an abuse of power by President Obama of any standing president! It reminds me of a mafia figure using federal agencies who are paid by our tax dollars to go after Christians because he does not agree with our Biblical positions on many issues. This life is a battle between good and evil. We are now in America where good is called evil and evil is called good. We need to stand on the side of righteousness regardless of the cost to us. Stand on Holy Ground and continue the fight! Time is short and the good we stand for is locked in by our Christ both now and forever! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Being Awesome In Obscurity! Matthew Chapter 6.
Why do we do what we do? Motives! Great people of God always have seasons of obscurity! Jesus in the desert, John the Baptist, Apostle John and many more examples in the Old Testament. American culture counters the idea of obscurity with social networks, web sites, instant media flashes, ect. God has to prepare out hearts and will not let us go public until we are right with Him and our fellow man. Motive is the spiritual mirror of the heart. The truth of scripture divides the motives of the heart. No one can hide wrong motives from God. The religious leaders of Jesus day gave money to be honored by men. Jesus said to give in secret. Then God will reward you openly! You will notice Jesus mentions reward three times. You will notice in Matthew Chapter 5, verse 16 that Jesus says to let your light so shine. Is Jesus contradicting Himself or is He talking about two different things? Shine or do in secret? It is all about motive. Neither do we boast or hide. We are a peculiar people. When people ask about your Godly behavior share your story about how God has changed you! Jesus mentioned a reward five times when you do the following three things in secret! They are; Give, pray and fast. Jesus says when we do these things which means we do them regularly! All three of these things are costly! Giving costs us money. To pray costs us time. To some time is money. To fast costs us energy. Most people say they trust in God and few Christians will do these three things regularly. To do these things means we embrace weakness. Most Christian’s will want to tell others they are doing these three things. Why? Motive! The Pharisee’s were the religious super stars of Jesus day. They fasted, prayed and gave money openly for men to see with no effect or approval from God! There will be seasons of obscurity sent from God to you so that you get right with who you are and do not give up your identity to please men! In Luke Chapter 4, verse 14 we read He returned with Power of the Spirit! God will not give you a public platform until you are ready! When Jesus came up out of the water during Baptism His Father in Heaven said; ” This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!” What is the reward Jesus is talking about if we do these three things? Some Christians especially in America think it is money, big houses, fancy cars, gold, land, stocks, bonds, ect. Some will even borrow great amounts of money to show the world they are Blessed of God? The reward Jesus is talking about is this; ” His Presence. ” His love for you! An eternity spent with Him both now and forever! Source; Sermon notes from Pastor Brady Boyd at New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. July 14, 2013. Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
New Life Church Sermon Notes. June 23, 2013
Scripture; Matthew 5; 33-35 1. Mean what you say and say what you mean – Honesty, Integrity. 2. Low Trust = Many Laws. We hear out of Washington everyday the following; “We will write another law so this never happens again!” 3. High Trust = Few Laws. 4. Build trust in our families. 5. Lack of trust causes us to withdraw from relationships. In Jesus day no one could trust the Roman government. They deceived the people with unjust taxes, excess spending, bribes, deception, ect. The religious leaders in Jesus day also wrote more laws as trust declined. 6. Jesus gave us a new way of being human. 7. God is an oath maker and a promise keeper – No double talk. 8. Satan is the accuser of the brethren. Five common lies or exaggerations told by Christians; 1. I will pray for you. 2. It is great to see you. 3. I am doing great. 4. I have read all the above and agree with the terms. 5. I love you brother. Three questions arise when we hear one or more of the five statements. 1. Is he or she hyping something? 2. Is he springing something? 3. Is he trying to sell me something? People try to exaggerate and manipulate people. Insecurity causes exaggeration. Would you love me if you saw the real me? Adam and Eve hid from God. Our vulnerabilities project a lifestyle. To manipulate is selfish. Words are used in a deceptive way to try to get a desired outcome. The Bible calls it witchcraft. The witch uses shame, guilt, fear and twists words to get people to believe something that is not true. This is demonic. Powerful but demonic. God is truth and love and not shame. Talk openly to your children about the beauty of God’s creation including sex and the purpose of it. Adolescence who are shamed about sex will have a great difficulty entering into a healthy sexual relationship when they are married. Please see Ephesians 4:14-15. Speak the truth in love. How do we speak the truth in love? Answer the following questions. 1. Have you prayed for them? 2. Do I see good and potential in them? 3. Will I be helpful to them? 4. Am I rested? God made an oath and promises to us. They are as follows; 1. I will be with you always. 2. Nothing can take you from my Father’s hand. 3. I will not leave you as orphans. 4. I will send the Holy Spirit to you. 5. I will give you rest. 6. I will build my church. Comment; What we admire about Pastor Brady Boyd is his transparency! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
You Shall Be As Gods! Genesis 3:5
A very fascinating offer! Adam and Eve certainly knew there was only one God. This statement by Satan should have raised a red flag? Satan is suggesting to them there is more than one God and they are missing out on something? To know good and evil is something to be attained! How does one who is not God come to the knowledge of good and evil? Yes, by doing evil. Your good deeds do not offset your evil deeds. Our evil comes from disobeying God which is simply sin. Good is never enough when done out of your own works. Satan and one third of the angels rebelled against God and got a head start on Adam and Eve. Satan, his angels and Adam and Eve got an eviction notice. This whole family made gods unto themselves and opposite in character to God! Satan’s bait here was promotion. Hell is not a promotion. Satan and all humans are created beings. Rebellion against God is to deny the God who created you and set yourself up as God! The Tree of Life was the only remedy but God could not let them partake until His Christ would be manifested in the earth in flesh. Then the curse over man would be broken! Today we have a way God has provided for us through His Son Jesus Christ who paid the penalty(death) for our sin. Any way such as Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddism, ect, is all about making gods unto yourself and then worship yourself is a rejection of the Living God! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Pentecost Sunday May 19, 2013
We have a birthday today! Yes the birth of His Church! Fifty days after Christ was raised from the dead His Church was born! Remember the Torah or Law was given to the people after 50 days. In the Old Testament God gave us the standard to live by but in the New Testament at Pentecost through His Holy Spirit He gave us power to live up to the standard! Source; Introduction to message given at New Life Church by Pastor Brady Boyd, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Sermon On The Mount Series New Life Church
Matthew Chapter 5; The sermon on the mount is the most taught and least followed of all Jesus teachings! Jesus brings a new imagination ( image ) and a new people out of this sermon. Israel has a history of getting things wrong! They moved from holiness, sin, rebellion, repentance and back to holiness. The difficulty today is the church is just like Israel. Often we cannot tell the difference between the church and the world. Leviticus 18:1-4; God found us in Egypt! God did not want the Jews to be like Egypt or like Canaan. There are traps both in prosperity and bondage. Do not follow the practices of the world. The world is sinking sand. Build on the rock (Christ). The Jews wanted Samuel to give them a king. Why? Other nations had kings. We want to be like the world. God and samuel were greived. So they got Saul, David and a bunch of really bad kings out of forty. Ezekiel 20:6-8; It is possible not to lust, control your temper and live peaceably. Here is a summation of the sermon on the mount, “An invitation from Jesus to be like him and be set apart.” We are a covenant people serving a covenant God. As a mother feeds her baby through the umbilical cord so we are the branches attached to the vine. Moses could not follow the law! The sermon on the mount is not another set of rules. Jesus in you teaches you and enpowers you. John 15:5-6; Apart from me you can do nothing. Bare much fruit! Philippians 2:12; Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. God works in you! No individualism here but community. The disciples left the crowd but after Jesus changed their lives they went back to minister to the crowds! We are in covenant with God and the community. If we try by ourselves we will fail. Live with Jesus and others. No isolation from community in the covenant. The table of covenant is community. Together we servs the community. We serve each other and we serve Christ as He serves us! The Trinity of the covenant is serving community, each other and Christ! Source; Sermon notes, Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Sermon On The Mount Series, 28 April 2013. Thankyou. James Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Is Everything On The Table?
Do not buy what you are not willing to give away! Otherwise things will have you. Do not live for things. Live for Christ. Sometimes examples always help us. Since moving back to Cololrado we have learned of a story of an old gold miner who lived in Colorado Springs. His name was Winfield Scott Stratton. He knew danger and tough times for 17 years wandering the Colorado mountains in search of gold. He finally found it in 1891 on the west slopes of Pikes Peak. His Independence mine made him a millionaire. One hundred years later the house his gold built stands as a memorial to his work and name. The Myron Stratton home off Nevada avenue, named after his father, is one of the more venerable institutions created by one of the most enduring acts of philanthropy! It opened in 1913, in accordance with Stratton’s will, as a free home for the poor who were without means of support and who are physically unable by reason of old age, youth, sickness, or other infirmity to earn a living. Today in Colorado Springs we have another man with the same God given vision! His name is Pastor Brady Boyd at New Life Church. He is buying properties in our city to provide living places for the homeless, widows, orphanes and single moms. We are thankful for being a part of this work! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Deviled Ham Luke Chapter 8, Verses 26-39
Jesus calmed a storm which really messed up the weather forecaster’s prediction and then the very next day met a naked crazy man on the beach. Even the crazy man knew someone messed up a perfectly good storm. The Gadarene area was a Roman colony made up of soldiers and gentile pig farmers. This story has helped advocate for the mentally ill over history. Jesus was and is today an advocate to help the mentally ill. The mentally ill are usually pushed to the outer fringes of a culture. Yes, all the way to the cemetary! Then bound with chains to be sure they do not disturb the dead! Satan will always try to isolate people. Whether through divorce, institutions or popular culture. Satan hates marriage and any unity that brings people together under righteousness! There are 4 area’s of theology in American culture. Area #1-No God, No Demons. Area #2- Big God, No Demons. Area#3- Big God, Big Demons. Area#4- Big God, Defeated Demons. The first 3 categories isolate people in our culture. Category 4 brings balance and unity to our culture. Jesus wanted to know the crazy man’s name? Jesus is interested in people not demon’s. A Roman Legion is about 5000 soldiers. The demons did not want to go to the abyss? Why? Their evangelism program would be over! They needed to take someone with them. They were pro-porkchop and wanted deviled ham! Jews considered pigs unclean and not redemptive. The local gentile community was making a living off the unclean. The next thing we see in this story is a man walking around in his right mind wearing clothes. Who gave clothes to this naked man? Does your church have a clothes bank? A wild man gets tamed! Jesus is more than a lamb he is a lion! Never try to tame God down and domesticate Him! Remember all this took place before the Cross! The Demon’s recognized Christ’s Divinity! The sane man wanted to go with Jesus and get out of town! Jesus wanted him to be a witness in his own community. If you are not a witness where you are do not waste time and money running somewhere else! Can you imagine the story he had to take back to his community? The community had to trade in 2000 pigs for a sane clothed man. The Gadarene’s did not like it and wanted Jesus to leave town! Their money was more important than this lunatic! Never get over your salvation! Others may try to tame you down but be wild for Christ! Christ will always make you a testimony of His love and power! Let Christ through you serve Satan a plate of deviled ham! Source; Personal notes from message given at New Life Church by Pastor Brady Boyd, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Extravagant Worship! Matthew 26:6-10
Jesus and Mary were the only two who left Simon the leper’s house anointed! The two that were anointed was the worshiper and the one worshiped! To know Him is to love Him! The more you love Him the more you want to know Him! Jesus did not ignore the poor but He made the point that the core to all adoration is; “Worship”. Make your worship costly! Break your box of ointment and pour out from your Walmart of Worship Resources to Worship Christ! This message is an outline from New Life Church Youth Worship message given on March 10, 2013, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Pastor Brady Boyd, Senior Pastor. Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com