Waking the Dead Part 1 Seeing Clearly
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SEEING OUR WAY CLEARLY
SEEING OUR WAY CLEARLY
You know that Relevant was started partly for the more. I think deep down inside of all of us there is a need for more. A deeper Christianity than what we have been exposed to, or a deeper one than we have really known.
English Standard Version Chapter 3
15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
The Bible talks about us being changed from Glory to Glory. And with the Lord it is always forward. There is no back stepping with him. When we refuse to go to the next level of glory, the old glory will grow dim and bleak and problem after problem will arise. When God begins to move you, if you choose to do nonthing, that will will be the most miserable place ever,
So tonight I want to challenge you to go onto know God. Challenge yourself and open yourself up to new ways of knowing God.
Tonight as Paul Harvey would put it, is the rest of the Story!!
That’s okay—God always does that when he is taking his people into new territory. If you’ll remember, the Jews had a pretty hard time accepting Jesus. He seemed outside their preconceived notions of what God was like. But those who did let go of the Law in exchange for the living Son of God found the life they were seeking.
INTRO INTO SEEING OUR WAY CLEARLY
The way through the world
Is more difficult to find than the way beyond it.
Is more difficult to find than the way beyond it. —Wallace Stevens Narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. —Jesus of Nazareth ()
—Wallace Stevens
Narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. —Jesus of Nazareth ()
There are few things more crucial to us than our own lives. And there are few things we are less clear about. This journey we are taking is hardly down the yellow brick road. Then again, that’s not a bad analogy at all. We may set out in the light, with hope and joy, but eventually, our path always seems to lead us into the woods, shrouded with a low-lying mist. Where is this abundant life that Christ supposedly promised? Where is God when we need him most? What is to become of us? The cumulative effect of days upon years that we do not really understand is a subtle erosion. We come to doubt our place, we come to question God’s intentions toward us, and we lose track of the most important things in life. We’re not fully convinced that God’s offer to us is life. We have forgotten that the heart is central. And we had no idea that we were born into a world at war. (pp. 1-2)
HAVE YOU BEEN THERE BEFORE? ARE YOU THERE NOW?
How important is your vision?
How Important is the truth?
How important is the truth of your path. i wonder how many times we misinterpret the truth of our situation?
A tire goes flat, a baby gets sick, you get released from your job.......
ARM YOURSELVES
ARM YOURSELVES
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come
that they may have life, and have it to the full.
that they may have life, and have it to the full.
—Jesus of Nazareth ()
—Jesus of Nazareth ()
HEART MONITOR
Take an inventory before you begin. How are you doing? Where are you right now? What are you feeling . . . thinking . . . wanting? What’s your mood? What’s been nagging at you today? Any discouragement . . . distraction? Are you even aware of what’s been nipping at your heels?
Eldredge, John. A Guidebook to Waking the Dead: Embracing the Life God Has for You (Kindle Locations 116-117). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
THE BIG IDEAS As we said, Waking the Dead, if taken seriously, is . . . revolutionary. So as we move along, what we’re going to do is help you focus on the Big Ideas, the central truths of each chapter.
There are three big ideas in chapter 1:
FIRST, most of us live in a fog, most of the time. Twenty clear days a year. I think I see what’s really going on about that often. Wouldn’t a little bit of clarity go a long way right now?
SECOND, the offer of Christ is life and that life starts now. The glory of God is man fully alive.
Now. THIRD, there is something set against us. We are at war. How we’ve missed this for so long is a mystery. Maybe we’ve overlooked it; maybe we’ve chosen not to see. We are at war. Until we come to terms with war as the context of our days we will not understand life.
Big Idea 1: WE NEED CLARITY
Big Idea 1: WE NEED CLARITY
20 CLEAR DAYS A YEAR.. THATS ABOUT ALL i GET OF CLEAR VISION
Zeroed in on all my relationships, undaunted in my calling. But for most of us, life seems more like driving along with a dirty windshield, and then turning into the sun. I can sort of make out the shapes ahead, and I think the light is green. (p. 5)
Zeroed in on all my relationships, undaunted in my calling. But for most of us, life seems more like driving along with a dirty windshield, and then turning into the sun. I can sort of make out the shapes ahead, and I think the light is green. (p. 5)
Why have things gone the way they have, and where was God in all that? And do you know what you ought to do next, with a deep, settled confidence that it will work out?
Why have things gone the way they have, and where was God in all that? And do you know what you ought to do next, with a deep, settled confidence that it will work out?
Do you wake each morning knowing exactly who you are and where God is taking you?
Do you wake each morning knowing exactly who you are and where God is taking you?
And do you know what you ought to do next, with a deep, settled confidence that it will work out? Do you wake each morning knowing exactly who you are and where God is taking you? How about this morning? Are you zeroed in right now in your relationships? What is going on right now in your key relationships—and what will that require of you next?
And do you know what you ought to do next, with a deep, settled confidence that it will work out? Do you wake each morning knowing exactly who you are and where God is taking you? How about this morning? Are you zeroed in right now in your relationships? What is going on right now in your key relationships—and what will that require of you next?
How about this morning? Are you zeroed in right now in your relationships?
How about this morning? Are you zeroed in right now in your relationships?
What is going on right now in your key relationships—and what will that require of you next
What is going on right now in your key relationships—and what will that require of you next
Eldredge, John. A Guidebook to Waking the Dead: Embracing the Life God Has for You (Kindle Locations 149-153). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
There’s talk of freedom, and abundant life, of peace like a river and joy unspeakable, but we see precious little of it, to be honest. (p. 5)
Up until I really came to see the Battle, I just thought life was hard because of sin—you know, “It’s a fallen world,” and all that. We blew it, and now this is the world we get. Make the best of it. Be more grateful. In fact, it was almost a sin to admit it wasn’t all that great. Anyhow, that was my theology. But I think down in my heart I thought life was hard because I just hadn’t found the key yet to making it work. Maybe if I try harder, or maybe when I’m more spiritual, or more mature, then things will work out. So, I guess I had my theological explanation, and I had my gut-level understanding. Theology: It’s a fallen world. Gut Level: I just can’t make it work. (John)
Let’s start with why life is so dang hard.
Why is it that everything seems so hard?
The last day of our vacation was like that. The night before we came home, we had problems with one another, we had a strong demonic attack. As soon as I get back the pressures of the church begin to mount. I have to come back with the news that we had just a few people. A two hundred dollar offering and now we are broke and not sure that we can continue to pay for a secretary.
The last day of our vacation was like that. The night before we came home, we had problems with one another, we had a strong demonic attack. As soon as I get back the pressures of the church begin to mount. I have to come back with the news that we had just a few people. A two hundred dollar offering and now we are broke and not sure that we can continue to pay for a secretary.
These moments aren’t a rational, calculated progression of thought; they’re more like being tossed out of a raft in a storm. It comes fast and furious, but the pull of the current is always toward a loss of heart. Most of the time we are swept away; we give in, lose heart,
Eldredge, John. A Guidebook to Waking the Dead: Embracing the Life God Has for You (Kindle Location 154). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
Hope vanished. I felt that sick-in-the-gut feeling of an imminent free fall, that feeling you get on top of a ladder that’s starting to sway under you. All kinds of thoughts and emotions rushed in. What? Oh, no . . . Not after all this . . . I . . . I thought . . . My heart was sinking. Despair, betrayal, abandonment by God. Failure on our part to pray enough or believe enough. I felt moments away from a total loss of heart.
After a while, the accumulation of event after event that we do not like and do not understand erodes our confidence that we are part of something grand and good, and reduces us to a survivalist mind-set.
Big Idea 2: THE OFFER IS LIFE
Big Idea 2: THE OFFER IS LIFE
The glory of God is man fully alive. (Saint Irenaeus)
The glory of God is man fully alive. (Saint Irenaeus)
Eldredge, John. A Guidebook to Waking the Dead: Embracing the Life God Has for You (Kindle Locations 219-220). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (). Wow.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Thats different from saying I came to forgive you.
I came so that you might go to heaven one day. Its different then saying I have come to save you from hell.
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (). Wow.
No… He said that I came to give you life and that to the full… that is life now, that is victory now, that is purpose, all power, infinite power inside of me right now.
I am the bread of life.
something. “I am the bread of life” (). “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” ().
“I am the bread of life” ().
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” ().
Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life. ()
You have made known to me the path of life. ()
In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ()
Come to me to have life. ()
Eldredge, John. A Guidebook to Waking the Dead: Embracing the Life God Has for You (Kindle Locations 230-235). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
The issue is the heart. That is where we must live from and operate fr4om, and it is here that a long and brutal assault has been waged.
Eldredge, John. A Guidebook to Waking the Dead: Embracing the Life God Has for You (Kindle Location 226). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Big Idea 3: WE ARE AT WAR
Big Idea 3: WE ARE AT WAR
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. ()
“Even though we might say we know Satan is out there, very, very few Christians ever ascribe their struggles to a direct attack by spiritual forces of darkness.”
“Even though we might say we know Satan is out there, very, very few Christians ever ascribe their struggles to a direct attack by spiritual forces of darkness.”
When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you have set in place— what are mortals that you should think of us,
the moon and the stars you have set in place— what are mortals that you should think of us,
mere humans that you should care for us? For you made us only a little lower than God,
mere humans that you should care for us? For you made us only a little lower than God,
and you crowned us with glory and honor. ( NLT)
and you crowned us with glory and honor. ( NLT)
I daresay we’ve heard a bit about original sin, but not nearly enough about original glory, which comes before sin and is deeper to our nature. We were crowned with glory and honor. Why does a woman long to be beautiful? Why does a man hope to be found brave? Because we remember, if only faintly, that we were once more than we are now.
I daresay we’ve heard a bit about original sin, but not nearly enough about original glory, which comes before sin and is deeper to our nature. We were crowned with glory and honor. Why does a woman long to be beautiful? Why does a man hope to be found brave? Because we remember, if only faintly, that we were once more than we are now.
Eldredge, John. A Guidebook to Waking the Dead: Embracing the Life God Has for You (Kindle Locations 281-285). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.