Philippians 3:8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
TPT 15 So let all who are fully mature have this same passion, and if anyone is not yet gripped by these desires, God will reveal it to them.
16 And let us all advance together to reach this victory-prize, following one path with one passion.
THE PATH TO PROGRESS IN CHRIST
1. PAUL SAID, THAT I MAY KNOW CHRIST
2. THAT I MAY BE FOUND IN HIM – Seeing who you are and have in Christ
3. THAT I MAY KNOW HIM.
AMPC 3:10 [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death,
THE BOOK OF PHILIPPIANS WAS WRITTEN 30 YEARS AFTER PAUL MEET JESUS.
PAULS PRODUCTIVITY AS A CHRISTIAN WAS BASED ON THIS PATTERN FOR PROGRESS.
THAT I MAY KNOW HIM; IN THE PARAMETERS OF 3 THINGS
THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION
THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERING
BEING MADE CONFORMED TO HIS DEATH
THERE’S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KNOWING ABOUT CHRIST AND KNOWING HIM.
JESUS DID MORE THAN JUST COME TO TEACH. HE SAID, I CAME TO DIE.
MAN’S GREATEST NEED WAS NOT FOR A TEACHING OR A LESSON.
MAN’S GREATEST NEED WAS LIFE...
EVERY RELIGION OFFERS LESSONS BUT ONLY JESUS GIVES LIFE.
THE CENTER OF CHRISTIANITY IS NOT JESUS TEACHINGS.
THE CENTER IS WHAT HAPPENED ON THE CROSS, HIS DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION.
YOU CAN KNOW ABOUT HIM FROM STUDYING THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT BUT IF YOU WANT TO KNOW HIM YOU MUST MEET HIM AT THE CROSS.
THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESURRECTION IS DETERMINED BY THE NATURE OF HIS DEATH.
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE CROSS?
EVERYTHING JESUS DID, HE DID IT FOR US.
JESUS WAS NOT A MARTYR, HE WAS A SUBSTITUTE.
AS A SUBSTITUTE HE TOOK OUR PLACE. HE DIED OUR DEATH.
HE TOOK OUR SIN. HE TOOK OUR CURSE. HE TOOK OUR SHAME.
WHEN JESUS WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD, THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION IS; THAT EVERYTHING GOD DID IN CHRIST, HE DID IT FOR US.
THE GOSPELS GIVE US A PHOTOGRAPH OF REDEMPTION.
BUT PAULS LETTERS GIVE US AN X-RAY
IN PAUL’S LETTERS HE SAID, I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Gal 2:20).
OUR IDENTITY COMES TOTALLY FROM JESUS CHRIST.
PAUL SAID, “THAT I MAY BE FOUND IN HIM” Vs 9
THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST WAS THE GREATEST DEMONSTRATION OF POWER EVER RELEASED IN THE UNIVERSE.
JESUS WAS THE FIRST MAN TO ENTER THE DEATH EXPERIENCE WHICH WAS SEPARATION FROM GOD AND MASTER IT.
The Path To Progress
September 25, 2022 • Pastor Bracken Christian
Sitting With Jesus
April 17, 2024 • Pastor Brody Christian
FIRST POSTURE YOU SHOULD DO WITH JESUS IS SIT WITH HIM EPHESIANS 1:20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places EPHESIANS 2:6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus 3 THINGS SITTING/RESTING REPRESENTS 1. WE DECLARE "IT'S DONE" 2. GIVES CONTENTMENT 1 TIMOTHY 6:6 But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. 3. GIVES US CONFIDENCE HEBREWS 10:35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. YOUR DESTINY - IS TO SIT & KNOW HIM, BE CONTENT & HAVE SO MUCH CONFIDENCE THAT HE IS IN CONTROL
Searching For God
April 14, 2024 • Pastor Brody Christian
JEREMIAH 29:11-14 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, JEREMIAH 29:13-14 msg “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree. PSALM 9:10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 139:17-18 nlt How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! GOD IS PURSUING YOU! HE PURSUES US FIRST 1 JOHN 4:19 19 We love because he first loved us. Genesis 3:8-9NLT 8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis+3%3a8-9&version=nlt#fen-nlt-64a] and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” HE PURSUES US WHEN WE ARE LOST LUKE 15:4-6 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ Stuff will not make you happy. Stuff will not last forever. MATTHEW 5:6 MSG AND NIV Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 1. PRAY 2. FOCUS YOUR SEARCH ON JESUS 3. READ THE BIBLE 4. REMAIN OPEN 5. ASK QUESTIONS 6. INVESTIGATE 7. TALK TO PEOPLE WHO LOVE AND FOLLOW JESUS 8. JOURNAL 9. SPEND TIME IN NATURE (Romans 1:20MSG. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, Ignoring God Leads to a Downward Spiral ROMANS 1:18-23 But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand. 24-25 So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes! 26-27 Worse followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn’t know how to be human either—women didn’t know how to be women, men didn’t know how to be men. Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men with men—all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for it—emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches. 28-32 Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it’s not as if they don’t know better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s face. And they don’t care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!
#TRUTHBOMBS
April 10, 2024 • Kevin Simmons
ORIGINS AND BUILDING BLOCKS TRUTH: CREATES….IT IS MY ORIGIN REDEEMS & RE-CREATES THE DOORWAY FEEDS…TRUTH IS MY FOOD & WATER FOR MY SPRIT-PERSON WAGES WAR IN BATTLE DELIVERS GUIDES HEALS JESUS IS THE WORD AND THE WORD IS TRUTH. · John 14:6 I am the Way the Truth and the Life · John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth · Psalm 119:160 The sum of your word is truth and every one of your righteous rules endures forever · 1 Peter 1:23 having been born not of a corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the seed of the WORD OF GOD that lives and abides forever!! · James 1:18- Of His own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. OUR RE-BIRTH- THE NEW CREATION Born of the Water Born of the Spirit Brought of the Word John 3:5- except a man be born of water of the Spirit he can not enter the kingdom of God. TRUTH REDEEMS In order to corrupt God’s creation Satan had to attack truth. In order to Redeem humanity God had to send Jesus, The Truth to defeat Satan. Jesus (The Truth) is the Door *Psalm 119:130 The entrance of your Word brings light *Magnifying truth takes you into God’s presence “If I can live in constant revelation of TRUTH then I can experience more and more full measures of God.” BELIEF SYSTEMS “The systems of truth that you meditate on have the ability to propel you into the stratosphere where all things are possible OR chain you completely to the prisons of impossibility.” Proverbs 23:7- As a man believes in his heart so he is. MEDITATING ON TRUTH · Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. · Ephesians 6:14 stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth… · Psalm 119:11- I have hidden your Word (Truth) in my heart that I might not sin against you · Isaiah 26:3- You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. · Truth effects your every moment- Good themes….good meditations….Light · Psalm 119:107 I am afflicted very much; Revive me (quicken me), O LORD, according to Your word. · Psalm 51:6- Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Dwell in fullness- A belief system where you’re constantly delivered…where you’re constantly healed…always prosperous, always victorious- be renewed in the spirit of your mind! Activate! Be quickened! Let the glory God has placed in you be manifest! TRUTH DELIVERSNOTES FOR TRUTH MESSAGE ORIGINS AND BUILDING BLOCKS TRUTH: CREATES….IT IS MY ORIGIN REDEEMS & RE-CREATES THE DOORWAY FEEDS…TRUTH IS MY FOOD & WATER FOR MY SPRIT-PERSON WAGES WAR IN BATTLE DELIVERS GUIDES HEALS JESUS IS THE WORD AND THE WORD IS TRUTH. · John 14:6 I am the Way the Truth and the Life · John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth · Psalm 119:160 The sum of your word is truth and every one of your righteous rules endures forever · 1 Peter 1:23 having been born not of a corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the seed of the WORD OF GOD that lives and abides forever!! · James 1:18- Of His own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. OUR RE-BIRTH- THE NEW CREATION Born of the Water Born of the Spirit Brought of the Word John 3:5- except a man be born of water of the Spirit he can not enter the kingdom of God. TRUTH REDEEMS In order to corrupt God’s creation Satan had to attack truth. In order to Redeem humanity God had to send Jesus, The Truth to defeat Satan. Jesus (The Truth) is the Door *Psalm 119:130 The entrance of your Word brings light *Magnifying truth takes you into God’s presence “If I can live in constant revelation of TRUTH then I can experience more and more full measures of God.” BELIEF SYSTEMS “The systems of truth that you meditate on have the ability to propel you into the stratosphere where all things are possible OR chain you completely to the prisons of impossibility.” Proverbs 23:7- As a man believes in his heart so he is. MEDITATING ON TRUTH · Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. · Ephesians 6:14 stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth… · Psalm 119:11- I have hidden your Word (Truth) in my heart that I might not sin against you · Isaiah 26:3- You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. · Truth effects your every moment- Good themes….good meditations….Light · Psalm 119:107 I am afflicted very much; Revive me (quicken me), O LORD, according to Your word. · Psalm 51:6- Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Dwell in fullness- A belief system where you’re constantly delivered…where you’re constantly healed…always prosperous, always victorious- be renewed in the spirit of your mind! Activate! Be quickened! Let the glory God has placed in you be manifest! TRUTH DELIVERS