Sunday, March 24, 2024

Worldview: Learning to Think and Live Biblically by Greg Laurie: Chapter 3-4

 Chapter 3: Hot-Button Issues


First 4 Commandments reminder:

-have us covered in our vertical relationship with God


Commandment 5: Honor you Mother and Father

-have us covered in our horizontal relationships with people

“Honor you father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord our God is giving you.” (Exodus 20: 12).

-we all understand the term “dysfunctional family”

-we all understand the derm “divorced”

-Satan has launched and unprecedented attack against the family in our nation today

-signs of the last days will be the breakdown in the family

“People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3: 2-4).

-God has a countercultural word for us “Honor your father and mother”

-God’s template was one father and one mother

-we tampered with God’s template to our own peril

-modern culture pushed well funded movement to legitimize same sex marriage

-Don’t be fooled: this is not just a political issue, but a moral and Biblical issue

Biblical Worldview:

-In the Garden of Eden, the Creator brought a man and woman together

-God is not anti-gay, He is anti-sin

-He loves all people and want them to repent and enter into a relationship with Him

Phobic

-if you speak out on anything you are accused of being phobic

-if you speak your opinion on anything you are accused of being phobic

-we are all born with a sinful nature

-being born in sin we are all vulnerable in certain areas (addiction is just one example as it could be sex, alcohol, drugs, food, etc..)


Honoring Imperfect People:

-when a marriage lasts lifetimes is a testament to the power and faithfulness of God in our lives

-Bible speaks directly to children

“Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord” (Colossians 3:20).

-even if you parents are not Christians you are to honor them (not as a doormat or punching bag, but be courteous, forgiving, and an example of Christ so they may come to know him as you do)

-even Jesus didn’t reach His whole family before His death and resurrection

-Jesus’ siblings and Mary didn’t see the light until after the resurrection (John 7: 3-5)

-if your parents ask you do to anything unbiblical, you are not required to do it

Ex. We forbid you to believe in Jesus Christ

-many martyrs can attest they disobeyed in spite of their family gave their lives to Jesus

-God is your ultimate authority



Commandment 6: You Shall Not Murder

“You shall not murder” (Exodus 20: 13).


-King James version -thou shalt not kill

-better translation version- you shall not murder

-the Bible doesn’t condemn all killing

-we have a right to defend ourselves

-even Jesus told his disciples to take their swords with them

-it is in the intention of the heart

Ex. a person in the military in the middle of a war zone has to fight for his/her life and may kill the enemy 

Ex. killing a shooter or terrorist bent on murdering innocent lives is justifiable

Ex. a person who attacks, rapes, steals her money, and strangles a woman to death is intentionally taking the life of an innocent victim with malice/evil in their heart is murder

-we live in a violent and murderous culture today

-God has established laws by which to govern a culture

-those who break those laws should face repercussions


Hating is sin

“But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matthew 5: 21-22).

-if you have ever hated someone so intensely that you wished everyday they were dead is sin

“Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart” (1 John 3:15).


Oxymoron:

-I do not support the death penalty but I do support abortion

-life begins at conception

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that fully well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139: 13-16).

-every child is created by God 

“You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman” (Max Lucado).

-obvious truths, abortion is commonly used today as a form of birth control

-abortion is a multi-million dollar industry

-terms are uses do dehumanize preborn babies

(ex. Fetus, embryo, globs of cells, uterine contents, products of conception, potential human beings)

-absurd: if the mother’s life is in jeopardy with no other option the mother needs to be saved over the baby (it is a life and death circumstance not just I don’t want to deal with this pregnancy)

-the same God who gives us laws and standards also provides a way to be forgiven

-we can be cleansed when we violate those standards

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).


Chapter 4: More Absolute Truth


Commandment 7: You Shall Not Commit Adultery

“You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:16

-committing adultery is having sex with someone besides your spouse

-violating this commandment is spiritually harmful and destructive in your life

-secular culture redefines the meaning and act of sex and secularity

-sex is good when it is within the bounds of marriage

-God’s way for sex is within a marriage commitment between one man and one woman

-God blesses their sexual union

-God wants to bless sex between a husband and wife

-when this union is violated the result is spiritual destruction

-sex between a man and woman is blessed with procreation and childbearing

-when this union is violated the result is destruction of the family

-sexual infidelity never can be regarded as something inconsequential or trivial


“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body” (1 Corinthians 6: 15-18).


-sexual sin hurts a lot of people

-it damages them spiritually and emotionally

-there is a direct correlation between sexual behavior and serious emotional problems


A casual look that is not casual:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27).

-this is a continuous act of looking (lustful)

-in our twisted culture it is hard to avoid images that could stir up lust

-seeing is not the sin, but lingering, imagining, obsessing, and motivated to lustful action


6 reasons why you should not commit adultery:

1.you do incredible damage to your spouse

2.you do incredible damage to yourself

3.you do incredible damage to your children

4.you do great damage to the church

5.you do great damage to your witness and the cause of Christ

6.you sin against the Lord Himself

Ex. Joseph fled the Pharaoh's wife a she made sexual advances

“How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9).

-Joseph feared sinning against God who loved him and had blessed him 

-sin grieves the Spirit of God and that is no small matter 


Commandment 8: You Shall Not Steal

“You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15).

-stealing is widespread in our culture today

Survey results when asked why don’t you steal?

-I might get caught

-the person I stole from might come after me

-I might not need the item

***What was missing?

-I don’t steal because it is wrong


“Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need” (Ephesians 4:28).


Principles to live our lives as Christians

-if you have stolen, steal no longer

**restore and restitution is evidence of a changed heart and life

-Do something useful

**work with your own hands to earn what you want instead of stealing

**government, parents, or the word doesn’t owe you a living 

**find a job and do it with all your strength and with a thankful heart

-Share what you have

**everything comes from God-give to those in need

**giving lightens the heart

**stealing leaves the heart empty


Commandment 10: Don’t Bear False Witness

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20: 16).

-don’t tell lies

-just tell the truth

-original use was not to perjure oneself in a judicial trial

-God hates lying

“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him” haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community” (Proverbs 6: 16-19).

-lying is antithetical to His character

“I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Hebrews 6:18).

-it is impossible for God to lie

-it is not part of His persona or nature

-Satan is always identified with lying

“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8: 44).

-when we are engaged in habitual lying and deception, we are behaving like a child of the devil

-watch it when you lie for convenience or to save face or fake flattery

-worse is to be a gossip or backstabber

“A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don’t hang around with chatterers” (Proverbs 20: 19).

-don’t listen to or pass along falsehood

***If there is one thing God hates, it’s a lie


Commandment 10: Do not Covet

“Thou shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17).

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20: 17).

***This is an action of the heart

“What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead” (Romans 7: 7-8).

-coveting is not seeing something you like and wishing you had it

-it isn’t wrong to admire something

-it isn’t wrong to want something

-coveting in context is wanting something that belongs to someone else and you are to point of taking it for yourself

-coveting something that belongs to a neighbor, co-worker, friend, ro family member

-Greek word is lust

-Hebrew word is covet

-coveting: the eyes look at the object, the mind admires it, the will seeks to posses it, and the body follows with the action

-coveting doesn’t care what harm comes from it

-coveting is I don’t care th price, I want what you have, one way or another I will take it

-coveting destroys lives and families

-covet someone else’s husband or wife can blow apart a marriage and yours

-coveting can destroy a ministry


***Commandments are absolute truth and reveal the holy standards of a holy God who can never be shaken

***The law brings us and drives us into the arms of Jesus for help, mercy, forgiveness, and provision (He is our only hope)


Worldview: Learning to Think and Live Biblically by Greg Laurie: Chapter 2

Chapter 2: How to Love God 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).


1 Corinthians 13: Greatest description of Love Paraphrases

Love:

-never gives up

-cares more for others than for self

-doesn’t want what it doesn’t have

-doesn’t strut

-doesn’t force itself on others

-isn’t always “me first”

-doesn’t fly off the handle

-doesn’t keep score of the sins of others

-doesn’t revel when others grovel

-takes pleasure in the flowering of truth

-puts up with anything

-trusts God always

-always looks for the best

-never looks back

-but keeps going to the end


Love:

-all begins with God

-He is the the wellspring

-He is the course

-He is the all genuine love

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


We show our love for God in not what we say, but what we do:

“If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).


How do we think and live Biblically?

-start with the Ten Commandments

-because of them we have clear absolutes to live by

-we find the heart of God in the Ten Commandments

-we will worship and love Him in the right way


Ch. 1 Commandment 1 Reminder:

-worshiping the right God (You shall have no other gods before me)


Commandment 2: worship the right God in the right way

-You shall not make for yourself a carved image

-God is not against art or artistic expression

-God gave us creative abilities and desires to use them

-the Ark of the Covenant was ordained with exquisite images of cherubim, sculpted in gold, wings outstretched over the mercy seat

-the temple itself was ordained with carvings of lions and bulls and cherubim

-the Bible isn’t criticizing the making of figures and objects

-the Bible is warning us to not use objects as an aid to worship


“4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” Exodus 20: 4-6).


Jesus stated, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).


-it is good to worship God in spirit

-there is a place for emotion in our worship


Turn away from any false image:

-you cannot make God into your image of Him

-allow Him to make you into His image


God is a Jealous God:

-when we think of the word “jealous” we equate it to pettiness and selfishness (vice)

-God means it to be a virtue 

-translation = jealous, but better interpretation is zealous

-He is zealous in His love for you

-He wants you to be zealous for Him

-God loves you and wants an exclusive relationship with you

-He wants your complete love


Exodus Narrative:

-Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandment

-At the bottom of the Mt. is Moses’ brother Aaron

-crowd grumbled to point of demanding an idol to worship

-Aaron caves:
“Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me” (Exodus 32: 2).

-the people loved the golden calf

-Israelites danced and carried around the false god

-Aaron announces that tomorrow is a feast for the Lord (vs. 5)

-crowd responds with they will worship the Lord through the golden calf

Twist in the plot:

-God tells Moses to get back down Mt. as the people are doing the thing you told them not to do

-Joshua asked if it was a war happening in the camp? (vs. 17)

-Moses responds no it sounds like a party

-Moses demands and explanation of this behavior from Aaron

-Aaron give a lame excuse:

“22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” (Exodus 32: 22-24).

-Aaron and the Israelites tried to cover up what they were doing by trying to say the calf simply was a representation of God

-idols gives us a false concept of what God is really like


Point:

-people rationalize their behavior in bowing down before an idol

-people try to blend it with legitimate worship of the Lord 

-God is not interested in outward performances

-God wants us to change our hearts and behaviors

“If you love me keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

-if the image is false then through it God is also false

-it produces a character that is false

-man becomes what he worships 

-the ultimate goal should be that we become like Jesus


Commandment 3: Don’t Take the Lord’s Name in Vain

“You shall not take the name of the Lord you God in vain” (Exodus 20: 7).


-do not acknowledge God in a backhanded sort of way (almost dismissive)

-even agnostics and atheists understand there is power in that holy name

-The Name of Jesus if Power

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2: 9-11).


-people react when they hear the name “Jesus”

-our culture freely discusses so called spirituality and religion and get no reaction

-people can even talk about Christianity in general with no reaction

-but, see how people react when you speak about Him(Jesus) as the Living God and Savior

-people pay attention to the name of Jesus

“There is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which you must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

-God want us to use His name in reverence and honor to His name

-God want us to invoke that holy name in our hour of need

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” (Proverbs 18:10).

***Prophet Elijah knew the power of the name of the Lord as he faced off with the prophets of Baal

-they called on their god from morning until night to no avail

-Elijah called upon “the name of the true living God and fire fell from heaven“ (1 Kings 18).

***Moses said, “I proclaim the name of the Lord: Ascribe greatness to our God” (Deuteronomy 32:3).


Careless Habits:

-”I swear to God” it taking the Lord’s name in vain

-these are words of liars because if you consistently tell the truth then you don’t need to swear it is true

“Just say a simple ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37).

-You cry out “Oh, My God” or texting OMG

-God is not an exclamation mark

-do not use the Lord’s name for personal gain or used in a trivial way

**do not label things to try to convince people of your version of God

Ex. Christian flip flops with a scripture written on them is empty, idle, insincere, and frivolous

-flip flops will not win a soul for Christ 

-do not misuse the Lord’s name to sell your products

-insincere cliche uses like “Praise the Lord” or “Bless your heart” or “God Bless You” after every sentence

-use those phrases in an intentional way not in an empty or frivolous way


Hypocrisy in the church is worse than profanity in the street:

-DO NOT use the Lord’s name if you have no intention in keep his commandments

Jesus said, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord.’ and not do the things I say” (Luke 6:46).

**nothing worse than praising God in church on Sunday and living the rest of the week as if you do not know Him

-everyone falls short but it comes down to the intention of the heart 

-no one is perfect, but to be a hypocrite is to be an actor

-you pretend to be something or someone you are not

-playing a part is offensive to God

“22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7: 23-24).


Commandment 3: The Principle of Rest

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).


-Historically, the Sabbath is Saturday

-this is the only commandment not repeated in the New Testament

-Sabbath was instituted for the Jewish people

-it is true today, as God had finished creating all things in six days

-He set the seventh day as a day of rest

-Sabbath rest as a law in in the Ten Commandments

-Christians today live under the New Covenant

-Jesus was even accused of breaking the Sabbath because he healed a man on the Sabbath

“Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath” (Mark 2L27).


Sabbath Controversy is done:

-the Sabbath was made for man

-It is a reminder to take a day of rest

-today, Sunday is set apart to worship the Lord

-Apostle Paul stated:

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day” (Colossians 2:16).

-Jesus is the Lamb of God who fulfills those Old Testament types

-the Sabbath has been fulfilled in relationship with Christ

-we enter into the rest of His finished work, accomplished for us on the cross

-every day is holy to the Lord

-every day is a day to enter into His rest 

**Do Not let anyone tell you that you have to keep the Sabbath day to be a true follower of Jesus-it is a distortion of Scripture


Come Unto Me

-Sabbath requirement may be fulfilled but you still need a time of rest

-we need to step back from all activities, quiet your hearts and minds, and seek the Lord in all things

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

-take time to gather with believers to re energize in fellowship

-take time to worship the Lord

-take time to get into the Word

-Make sure you make time to get spiritually recharged 

-take time to reconnect with the Lord in a deeper way (use the Sabbath principle-not the day)

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you rest. I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls” (Matthew 11:28).

***Christianity says it is done; other religions require you to do, do do!