Made for More - Beltway Park Church

Words Matter

November 12, 2023 • Geoffrey Turner • James 3:2–12

Our words matter (Proverbs 18:21). The Bible is clear: the tongue has power to bring life or death. The struggle, however, is that even though our words are powerful – like a rudder of a boat, a horse’s bit, or small spark that starts a forest fire – the tongue is untamable in our own strength (James 3:7-8). On our own, we are powerless to use our words to bring life. Only by the Holy Spirit and the saving grace of Jesus can our language be transformed and become life-giving. A changed heart leads to words of life (Luke 6:45). When our words bring life, they encourage others, are kind and compassionate, and express forgiveness.

Judge Not

November 5, 2023 • David McQueen • Matthew 7:1–2

Judge not, that you be not judged (Matthew 7:1-2). These words of Jesus are often culturally understood to mean that we should never say or believe that another person is wrong. Jesus, however, had a different concept in mind in this part of His Sermon on the Mount. To judge is to hold a final verdict in our minds about another person’s worth or destiny that is different from the truth of God about that person. It is seeing people as less than God sees them, and it is often adopted or developed in us from our society, our family of origin, and/or our wounds (wounds from others, or self-inflicted wounds because of our sinful choices). All ungodly judgments are ugly in the eyes of God because they contradict the gospel. Jesus paid the price of His life for every person, giving them all immeasurable worth. As His followers, we are designed and called to love others (and ourselves) like He loves them. We rid ourselves of judgments – and their torment – by asking our Heavenly Father to graciously reveal them, to forgive us for believing them, and to show us what He thinks about that person or group of people instead. We then intentionally confess our agreement with what is true.

Unless You Forgive

October 29, 2023 • David McQueen • Matthew 18:21–35

Unforgiveness produces torture; forgiveness yields freedom (Matthew 18:21-35). When we become followers of Jesus, we are forgiven a spiritual debt we could never pay. It is because we have been forgiven much that we can and should forgive others. When we refuse to extend forgiveness to someone, it is a significant act of dishonor against God and against the forgiveness we have received from Him. Unforgiveness gives the enemy the right to torment our lives, to keep us in bondage and to keep us from the abundant life God offers us. On the other hand, walking in forgiveness is incredibly liberating. Forgiveness is a deliberate choice, not a feeling. It does not require trust, nor does it mean we forget. But for those who desire lasting freedom, forgiveness is not optional.

Beliefs

October 22, 2023 • Geoffrey Turner • Romans 12:1–2

We were made for a transformed life with a renewed mind and changed beliefs (Romans 12:2). We all have lenses, or belief systems, that shape how we see the world and how we live. Those beliefs often come from our life experiences, from our family history and what was said or modeled in our home, from significant hurt and trauma, or from what we have culturally or socially seen and embraced. When we have an experience, it leads to a belief; that belief creates an expectation, which influences behavior. When we begin to conform to the world, we develop ungodly beliefs that produce choices and actions with destructive consequences. God offers us an alternative: a transformed life where our minds are renewed and our we beliefs align with the Bible and with the heart and character of God. We renew our minds by taking our thoughts captive and making them obedient to Jesus (2 Corinthians 10:5), by confessing our beliefs so that we may be healed (James 5:16), and by stepping into forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32).

The Battlefield

October 15, 2023 • David McQueen • 2 Corinthians 10:3–6

More comes as we recognize lies and replace them with truth (2 Corinthians 10:3- 6). We are at war. It is an unseen battle that plays itself out in our physical world. It is a battle for our minds, for the way we think. What we think matters immensely because our thoughts determine our choices and actions. Therefore, the enemy’s primary weapon to steal, kill, and destroy is to corrupt our thinking, to get us to believe lies. Lies are at the heart of all that is destructive in our lives. Thankfully, God has given us His power to renew our minds, to identify the lies we have embraced, and to make every thought obedient to Jesus. Confession is a key tool to bring our thoughts into alignment with what is true and with Jesus as the source of truth. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we use confession to call out a lie and replace it by speaking the truth of God’s Word.

Hearing God

October 8, 2023 • David McQueen • John 10:1–11

More is found as we hear and follow God’s voice (John 10:1-10). Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and each of us as His followers – as His sheep – can and should know His voice. Hearing the voice of God, however, is not automatic; it is something we must learn and grow in. The primary way God speaks to all people throughout history is through the Bible. It is not merely a book to be read, but it is God’s voice to be heard. Every other means of hearing God is filtered, tested, and discerned through the Bible. Another important way God speaks is through impressions, which is a thought or idea that comes from Him. All impressions should be consistent with the Bible and generally provide specific guidance on how to fulfill a Biblical command or principle. Often impressions are contrary to how we normally think and require us to rely on God for strength and courage. Impressions from God also lead us to love Him and others more. In whatever way we hear God, it is not enough to simply affirm that He speaks. We must desire to hear His voice and position ourselves to receive what He wants to say.

Identity

October 1, 2023 • Geoffrey Turner • 2 Corinthians 5

In Christ, everything changes (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). In Him, who we are – our identity – is transformed. In Christ, we become new creations and are adopted into His family. In Him, we move from being spiritual orphans and slaves to being His sons and daughters, heirs to His inheritance. In Christ, we begin a journey into freedom and healing that impacts generations to come.

The Message of the Cross

September 24, 2023 • David McQueen

Freedom is rooted in what Jesus did and not what we do (John 19:29-30). Contrary to the common belief of our culture, we cannot generate enough power or strength to get free. Instead, freedom comes when we plug in to and yield to what Jesus did on the cross. When we connect and yield to Jesus, the message of the cross affects our lives directly and empowers us to become free, to become like Him. What Jesus did on the cross is more than enough, which is why He could say tetelestai (it is finished). Through Him, our debt is paid, justice is served, our life is built, and victory is obtained.

Restored to the Father

September 17, 2023 • David McQueen

Freedom is found as we trust the Father’s heart (Matthew 6:9; John 14:6). Jesus came to restore us to our Heavenly Father, to see and know His goodness. When we want to know what kind of Father God really is, we do not look to our circumstances or even to our earthly father. Instead, we discover what kind of Father God really is when we look at Jesus, the cross, and the empty tomb. He is a Father who sings in pride over His children, who is slow to anger and abounding in love, who runs to His children to cover their shame, and who is always there and never leaves. We can yield to God and submit to His authority because we know that He is beyond good as a Father.

It is for Freedom...

September 10, 2023 • David McQueen • Galatians 5:1, Galatians 5:13, Galatians 5:26

Freedom is a promise that must be possessed (Galatians 5:1). While many people have embraced the lie that real change is impossible and carry an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, Jesus came to set us free. The freedom He offers us is the ever-increasing ability to become more and more like Him, to live as God designed us to live. That promise of freedom, however, is not automatic. We can be alive in Jesus and still not be free. Just as He commanded Lazarus to come out of the tomb and be unbound, He calls us to be both made alive and loosed in Him (John 11:38-39). Possessing our promise of freedom is an ongoing journey of yielding to the leading of the Holy Spirit in what we think and what we do.