God's Goals: Community - Matthew 18:12-20

Sin cuts. It divides us - people from God and people from people. One of God's Goals for us is to work to undo the damage that sin does. We have to look at how sin divides us and what we can do to pull people back together instead of pulling each other apart.

• Individual Importance - v12-14
  
• Everyone is the ONE
  
• Start Small, Stay Simple - v15-17
  
• Limit the Audience
• Divine Design - v18
  
• "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" - 6:10
• Stronger Together - v19-20
  

God's Goals: Humility - Matthew 18:1-10

Do you ever feel like you're fighting a losing battle? Like you keep trying and trying, but never get anywhere. There are times when we all feel that way. We see a goal and we try to get to it, but we can't ever seem to get there. Sometimes we set the wrong goals. Sometimes there are obstacles in our path that we just can't get past. And sometimes those obstacles are us. God gives us goals that we should all have for our lives, goals that we can all reach. But, we can only reach them if we learn not to get in the way.

• Welcome the Weaker - Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. v5
  
• Open Yourself
• Cut the Cause - If your hand or foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. - v8
  
• Sacrifice Yourself
• Don't look Down - See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. - v10
  
• Examine Yourself
  

Handling the Truth: Truth Stands For Real - John 8:32

We all have secrets, things that we are afraid to tell anyone for fear of what it would do to the relationship. So, we hide these things inside, we push them down and try to cover them up. But, in truth these secrets act like a wedge between us and other people. The more we push them down, the further we push people away. If these secrets are sins, they drive the same kind of wedge between us and God. We long to feel close to God and to live real, authentic lives, but in order to do so we have to face the truth for real.

• Inside
• True to Ourselves
  "You are the man!" - 2 Samuel 12
  
• True to God
  He will forgive us - 1 John 1:9
  
• Outside
• True to Others
  Confess your sins to EACH OTHER - James 5:16
  
• True to Life
  ...and the truth will set you free. - John 8:32
  

Handling the Truth: Truth Stands Firm - Matthew 4:1-11

“Just follow your heart.” “Find your own truth.” “What’s true for you isn’t necessarily true for me.” “There is nothing that is absolutely true.” Sound familiar? Have you heard these ideas before, from Hollywood or your friends or neighbors? Maybe you even think this for yourself. Sometimes things just feel right when at another time they felt wrong. There are some things that you’ve heard are wrong that just feel so right. How can we know that there is such a thing as absolute truth that applies to everyone. If we as Christians have found absolute truth, how should we respond to it? What should we do with it?

• We cannot move or bend the truth:
• In those days Israel had no king; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. - Judges 21:25
• "You have let go of the commands of God and are hanging onto the traditions of men.” - Mark 7:8
  

• We must follow the Word of truth as it is written: Matthew 4
• v4 - “It is written, ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
  The Truth sustains us
• v7 - "It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
  The truth is proven
• v10 - “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
  The truth guides us

Handling the Truth: Truth Stands Alone - 1 Kings 18:16-39

The world we live in doesn’t know what truth is. We are used to being lied to, cheated and swindled. We forget what the world looks like without wool pulled over our eyes. In the midst of this, we have come to think that there is more than one truth, more than one right way. If we want to handle the truth properly, we have to recognize that in the midst of this culture there is only one truth. There is only one way. Some may think this idea is arrogant or closed-minded, but that doesn’t make it any less true. That’s the great thing about truth - it’s true.

1 Kings 18:16-39

• The Truth sheds Light - v18
• The Truth demands a Choice - v21
• The Truth has POWER - v39

1 Tim 2:5-6 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men...

Life on Loan: Remember Your Potential - Matthew 5:13-16

Do you know who you are? Do you act like it? We can know that God made us special, that he created us for a purpose, that he loaned us this life for a reason - but if we don’t act on this knowledge it doesn’t do us any good. We must remember that God made us salt and light that is useful and powerful. No matter what the situation, faith makes a difference.

Matthew 5:13-16

• You are the Salt of the Earth - v13
  
• not JUST flavor
  
• but ALWAYS salty
• You are the Light of the World - v14-16
• not JUST shining
• but NEVER hiding
  

Life on Loan: Renew Your Love - Revelation 2:2-5

You work hard. You do the right things and say the right things. You persevere despite the opposition, but why? Because it’s the right thing to do? Because God said so? They are good reasons, but not the right reason. Love must be our motivation, our guide and our sustenance. BUT, what happens when we don’t feel that love? We felt it before, but it seems to be gone now. We often try to find something else (some new teacher or group or program or book) to bring that excitement back. God doesn’t say to find something new. He says to go back to basics.

• You're Doing well... - v2
  BUT
  
• You've forsaken your first love. v4
• Tongues - Love = Noise (1 Cor 13:1)
• Knowledge + Power - Love = Nothing (1 Cor 13:2)
• Good Deeds + Sacrifice - Love = Nothing (1 Cor 13:3)
SO

• Renew Your Love - v5
  
• Remember the height from which you have fallen
• Repent
• Re-Do the things you did at first
  

Life on Loan: Redefine Your Faith - Acts 21:10-15, Matthew 16:21-26, James 2:14-19

How do you look at faith? Like a vitamin that you take every day to keep spiritually healthy? Like a good luck charm that keeps you from harm? Like a parachute to catch you when things get too intense? Like a book of rules to keep us on the straight and narrow? Do we get so stuck on these ideas that we miss what faith is really all about. If we are to fulfill our purpose with the lives God has loaned us, we must take a step back and redefine our faith, to align it with the faith found in God’s Word.

• The Attitude of Faith
• Bring it On! - ...I am ready not only to be bound, but to die... Acts 21:10-15
• Get Behind Me - ... you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men... -Matthew 16:21-23
• The Action of Faith
• Follow Me - If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. - Matthew 16:24-26
• Show Me - ...I will show you my faith by my deeds. - James 2:14-19
  

Life on Loan: Reassign your Resources - Luke 10:27-37

Are you a giver or a taker? Does all that taking make you happy, or does it just make you want more and more? Too many people in this world are takers, and not enough people know the joy of giving. God created us to give to those in need. He prepared us to do good works for those in need by giving us talents and resources to use for His purposes. Too often we have buried those talents or used them for our own purposes instead of looking for God’s purposes. It is up to us to reassign those resources to do God’s work here and now.

Luke 10:27-37
The Good Samaritan Gives:

• Inconvenient Help - v33
  
• Personal Involvement - v34
• Sacrificial Transportation - v34
• Lodging and Companionship - v35

Matthew 25:14-30
The One-Talent guy was Scared, Lazy and Wicked because he:

• Didn't look past his Fear
• Didn't exert any Effort
  
• Didn't take any Risks

Life on Loan: Re-Examine Your Values - Isaiah 32:1-8

What’s important to you?
What do you invest in? Things that make you noble, or things that make you just like everyone else? Throughout history it has become apparent that most men do not value anything but themselves. The same cannot be said of God. If we are going to lives our lives on loan from God, we must do what God would have us do with them. This means valuing the things that God values and living according to those values.

Isaiah 32:8 - But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands.

• A Noble Man Values Purpose - v1-2
• ...if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. - 1 John 4:11-12
• Noble Plans Value Preparation - v3-4
• Seeing - Hearing - Knowing - Telling
• Noble Deeds Value People - v5-7
• Do you SEE this woman? - Luke 7:36-44