Pastor Bill's Blog

Ungodly Beliefs – all beliefs, decisions, attitudes, agreements, judgments, expectations, vows, and oaths that do not agree with God(His Word, His nature, His character)

Godly Beliefs – all beliefs, decisions, attitudes, agreements, judgments, expectations, vows, and oaths that do agree with God(His Word, His nature, His character)

Much of what we believe about God – ourselves – others – come from UGB

I don’t belong – my feelings aren’t important – I am not worthy – I am a bad person – I will never be able to give or receive love – authority figures will use or abuse me – God doesn’t care about me personally – God doesn’t have a purpose for my life

Romans 12:2(NLT)  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

1.             Wrong thinking formation

Experiences of hurt – repetition of hurt – abusive treatment

Parents and authority figures – God needed a flower for his bouquet

Co-dependant relationships

Secular world view – self-dependency

2.             Wrong thinking cycle

Experience – belief – expectation – behavior – experience

The sowing – reaping cycle – harvest – seeds of bitterness – exponential results

3.             Wrong thinking paralysis

Erodes our faith

Creates a divided mind

Allows room for demonic oppression

Hinders the intercession of Christ – the working of the Holy Spirit

Causes us to think small and derail our destiny in Christ

4.             Right thinking freedom

There is a higher level of truth than the facts.  And that is God’s Truth.  The real Truth is what He says about the situation

Natural truth filtered through – God’s truth

Apparent fact:  So much is changing, I can’t count on anything

God’s truth – Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever

5.             Wrong/right thinking exchange

UGB – I will never be able to give or receive love, to have intimate, satisfying relationships with people.

GB – God who is love, can and will teach me how to enter into 1 Corinthians 13 love.  I choose to begin to let down my defenses and to enter into His kind of love.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5(NLT)  ³ We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. ⁴We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. ⁵ We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

Helen Keller became deaf and blind at age 19 months – Anne Sullivan began working with her at age 7 – first deaf/blind person to receive a bachelor’s degree and published 12 books

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.

It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision

Nehemiah 13:6(NLT)  I was not in Jerusalem at that time, for I had returned to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign, though I later asked his permission to return.

 Nehemiah had returned to Persia – could have been gone 10 years – things seem to have fallen apart – what must be done to not lose the ground gained when our rubble is turned into walls

1.   Highest commitment to please God

weddings yesterday – couples committed to pleasing each other

Nehemiah 13:9(NLT)  Then I demanded that the rooms be purified, and I brought back the articles for God’s Temple, the grain offerings, and the frankincense.

Restoring space given to Tobiah who along with Sanballat had opposed the building of the wall

Make space and provision to worship God

Never allow God’s space to be occupied by anyone or anything else

Christ in your life or your life in Christ

2.   Make provision for facilitating worship

Nehemiah 13:10-12(NLT)  ¹⁰ I also discovered that the Levites had not been given their prescribed portions of food, so they and the singers who were to conduct the worship services had all returned to work their fields. ¹¹ I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple of God been neglected?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties. ¹² And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple storerooms.

Shifting the priorities for worship to the busyness of life – deception of gradual

Neglecting the temple of God – collective worship – personal commitment – we are the temple

The importance of first fruit

3.   Never forget that God is the source

Nehemiah 13:17-18(NLT)  ¹⁷ So I confronted the nobles of Judah. “Why are you profaning the Sabbath in this evil way?” I asked. ¹⁸ “Wasn’t it just this sort of thing that your ancestors did that caused our God to bring all this trouble upon us and our city? Now you are bringing even more wrath upon Israel by permitting the Sabbath to be desecrated in this way!”

The significance of the Sabbath – gives God supreme recognition – reminds us that God’s sufficiency is greater than ours – 6 days with His blessing greater than 7 days of our work and ingenuity

Mary Kay Ash – began Mary Kay Co. in 1963 with $5000 – at her death in 2001 – 800,000 reps – sales of $2 billion annually -  “Behind every success story in Mary Kay, you will find a simple explanation of great faith. I believe that every person has a capacity for greatness, that God planted the seeds there, and it is up to us to make them blossom forth with patience, guidance and belief. It is up to us to discover the multiple talents that we possess and bring them into fruition.”

Chico – life changing experience – investing in prison ministry – the greatest hope in a place of greatest hopelessness

Nehemiah 9:1-4(NLT)  ¹ On October 31 the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in burlap and sprinkled dust on their heads. ² Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners as they confessed their own sins and the sins of their ancestors. ³ They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God. ⁴ The Levites—stood on the stairway of the Levites and cried out to the Lord their God with loud voices.

 1.             Establishing priorities

 Nehemiah 10:28-29(NLT)  ²⁸ Then the rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, Temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the pagan people of the land in order to obey the Law of God, together with their wives, sons, daughters, and all who were old enough to understand—²⁹ joined their leaders and bound themselves with an oath. They swore a curse on themselves if they failed to obey the Law of God as issued by his servant Moses. They solemnly promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the Lord our Lord:

 PDA was introduced in 1992 by Apple Computer CEO John Sculley – in 1996 Nokia introduced first phone with PDA functionality – today there are over 150 million smart phones

 Determine a Biblical personal vision

Distinguish goals(something you can do something to make happen) from desires

Establish long range and short term goals

2.             Establishing routines – Lima Road construction disruption

Nehemiah 10:34(NLT)  “We have cast sacred lots to determine when—at regular times each year—the families of the priests, Levites, and the common people should bring wood to God’s Temple to be burned on the altar of the Lord our God, as is written in the Law.

Establish a short term blueprint

Weekly and daily management

Distraction and realignment

3.             Establishing roots

Nehemiah 11:1(NLT)  The leaders of the people were living in Jerusalem, the holy city. A tenth of the people from the other towns of Judah and Benjamin were chosen by sacred lots to live there, too, while the rest stayed where they were.

Determining non-negotiables in a desensitized world

The synergy of church family

The value of family – new paradigms – moms

Traditions and spontaneity

Friday at lunch – walk away from table – Isabella – roots

as Heather shared – in a state of desperation our prayer life begins to change – choose to have our faith and hope in God – God has a plan for you

Nehemiah 8:10(NLT)  ¹⁰ And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

1.             More than brick and mortar

Nehemiah 8:1(NLT)  all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey.

Tools for our life

Structure for our life

The power of life itself

Significance of baptism today

2.             Hearing that produces understanding

Nehemiah 8:7-8(NLT)   ⁷ The Levites—then instructed the people in the Law while everyone remained in their places. ⁸ They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage.

Drivers education – classroom – practice driving – connecting the dots

Journey from words on a page to words of significance

The application of the bigger picture

The application for my life

The application for this moment

3.             Progression from despair to desire to celebration

Nehemiah 8:17(NLT)  ¹⁷ So everyone who had returned from captivity lived in these shelters during the festival, and they were all filled with great joy! The Israelites had not celebrated like this since the days of Joshua son of Nun.

Connection from Joshua to now

Returned from captivity – lived in shelters during festival

The understanding of process vs. event

Living in the progression – despair – desire – celebration

PROGRESSION – Miami Medical this past Friday night – Dr. Matthew Proctor – describes in a fund raiser for the hospital a seemingly random but actually connected day in trauma hospital – series of events that created domino affects – one life not saved – did not get to the hospital where she could get the help – shows the importance of funding for the hospital

Progression in our lives – always fueled by and leads to the joy of the Lord – which refuels and leads to the joy of the Lord – as Virginia said – from survival to success

The inherent battle between good and evil

 Nehemiah 4:1-2(NLT)  ¹Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, ² saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices?  Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?”

 1.             Scout out the enemy

 Nehemiah 4:7-9(NLT)  ⁷But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious. ⁸ They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion. ⁹ But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.

 When A. M. Low developed his Aerial Target in 1916 he probably didn’t know that it was the beginning of AUV(unmanned aerial vehicles) perfected by Israel in 70s and 80s now often referred to as drones as used by our military

 Enemy has plans – reveal his plans

Enemy wants to bring confusion – speak confusion into the enemy

Trust God to protect the city and to protect us

2.             Learn to multi-task

Colts – 2008-2009 – 23 consecutive wins – longest streak in NFL – 1991 the Colts set NFL records for fewest points (143) and fewest TDs (14) in a 16-game season. Midway through the season, when the Colts were still winless, Eric Dickerson all but told fans to stay away. “Personally, I wouldn’t come out and watch a game. No way I’d pay to see someone play the way we are.”  - the need to play both defense and offense

Nehemiah 4:15-18(NLT)  ¹⁵ When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall. ¹⁶ But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah ¹⁷ who were building the wall. The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. ¹⁸ All the builders had a sword belted to their side. The trumpeter stayed with me to sound the alarm.

The importance of preparing for battle

Weapons of warfare

Behind the people – the rear guard

Support the load – carry the weapon

Listen for the alarm

3.             Deal with the issues and live for the goal

Nehemiah 6:15-16(NLT)  ¹⁵ So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. ¹⁶ When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God.

Recognize the issues caused by evil and deal with them

Focus on the bigger picture and God’s assignment

Be ready for God to release efficiency – live for higher purpose

Bill Ballenger – Break the Grey – Jackson, Michigan – about 1100 students – 250 decisions for Christ – call from Jodie on Tuesday/ACLU

Rich found out it was not going to be by his power that the issues were going to be resolved – Lord its yours – I can’t do it anymore – I let go and placed my faith in Christ

Nehemiah 1:3(NLT)  …“Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”

 1.             Identify your team

 UCLA’s Basketball under Coach John Wooden may have been the greatest college basketball team of all times. In 27 seasons as head coach of UCLA Basketball, the team never suffered a losing season and eventually won 10 national championships in a span of 12 years including an unprecedented seven straight. From 1972 to 1974, the team accented its dominance of American college basketball by running off 88 consecutive victories.

 Nehemiah 3:28-30(NLT)  ²⁸ Above the Horse Gate, the priests repaired the wall. Each one repaired the section immediately across from his own house. ²⁹ Next Zadok son of Immer also rebuilt the wall across from his own house, and beyond him was Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the gatekeeper of the East Gate. ³⁰ Next Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section, while Meshullam son of Berekiah rebuilt the wall across from where he lived.

 The trinity – Father/Son/Holy Spirit

Church family – mentors – sojourners – trainees

Common purpose – individual strengths

2.             Fortify your walls

The Great Wall of China is the longest manmade structure in the world – the main wall is around 2145 miles long – 25 feet high in places – ranges from 15 to 30 feet wide

Nehemiah 3:19-21(NLT)   ¹⁹ Next to them, Ezer son of Jeshua, the leader of Mizpah, repaired another section of wall across from the ascent to the armory near the angle in the wall. ²⁰ Next to him was Baruch son of Zabbai(zab bah e), who zealously repaired an additional section from the angle to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ Meremoth son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz rebuilt another section of the wall extending from the door of Eliashib’s house to the end of the house.

Avoiding isolation – establishing boundaries

Inviting protection and insulation

3.             Establish your gates

Sheep Gate – where sheep and lambs brought in for sacrifice – picture of the perfect lamb Christ – the removal of our sin – mentioned in vs 1 and vs 32 – starts and ends with the cross

 Dung(Refuse) Gate – gate through which the refuse from the city was taken to the valley of Hinnom to be burned – the importance of letting the ‘stuff’ in our lives be dealt with and removed and burned – fire exposes the gold

 Horse Gate – near the palace of King David – where horses brought in and out – horses used for warfare – reminder that we are in warfare

 East Gate – the gate for Messiah to return – hope for the future – for God to make all things right – sealed in 1530 by the Ottomon Turks – reminds us that when everything seems sealed off – when the path is blocked – there is still hope – as Jesus will touch down on the Mount of Olives and the gate will be opened – so when God steps into our lives the closed gates are swung open

 Tim walked into Life Bridge – Aug 2008 – choices are a huge part of our life – one bad choice leads to another bad choice – He picked me up – laid down my life and picked up the cross – change will come – you will be on the top of the world spiritually – identify your team – fortify your walls – establish your gates

Nehemiah – Jerusalem invaded and destroyed in 606 BC by Babylonians – most Jews taken to Babylon – Babylon conquered by Persia – King of Persia allowed some Jews to return to Jerusalem – now 445 BC when Nehemiah and those who returned began to rebuild walls – some present in Jerusalem opposed building the walls – took only 52 days to actually rebuild the walls

 Nehemiah 1:3(NLT)  …“Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”

 The restoration process

 1.             A healthy concept of God – Nehemiah – comforter – Holy Spirit

 Nehemiah 1:5(NLT)  Then I said, “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands,

 Understanding the concept of an awesome God

Covenant of unfailing love

Loving Him and obeying His commands

Dietrich Bohoeffer – executed by Hitler 65 years ago this past Friday – Only he who believes is obedient and only he who is obedient believes.

2.             Engaging in honest evaluation

Nehemiah 1:7(NLT)  We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.

Understanding the letter of the law and the spirit of the law

Demanding our freedom produces captivity

Submitting our freedom releases captivity

Examining our heart

3.             Essentials for releasing restoration

Nehemiah 1:9(NLT)  But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’

Return to God – live from His life

Bring you back – to the place – I have chosen – for my name to be honored

4.             Finding success through favor

Nehemiah 1:11(NLT)  O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.”  In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.

Delight in honoring God

Success granted from God through men

Favor from touched hearts of the kings in my life

Trustworthy like a cup-bearer

RESTORATION – Maryann – went from knowing Him through religion to understanding Him in relationship – gave her perspective – living through daily graces

1 Timothy 2:5-6(NIV)  ⁵For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.

 EVIDENCE THAT THE RANSOM HAS BEEN PAID

1.             Circumstantial evidence

Luke 24:1-7(NLT)   ¹ But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. ³ So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.  ⁵ The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? ⁶ He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

Given the freedom to live instead of die

         The power of sin is broken

         The power of Jesus as our intercessor

         The power of His life in us

2.             Physical evidence

John 20:24-29(NLT)  ²⁴ One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. ²⁵ They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”  But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”  ²⁶ Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”  ²⁸ “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.   ²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Given the choice to believe instead of doubt

         What do you believe about Jesus?

         What do you believe about the enemy?

What do you believe about yourself?  

3.             Spiritual evidence

Luke 24:28-34(NLT)  ²⁸ By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, ²⁹ but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. ³⁰ As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. ³¹ Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!  ³² They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” ³³ And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, ³⁴ who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.”

Given the opportunity to go somewhere instead of nowhere

         Recognizing Jesus in our journey

         The spiritual fire lit by an encounter with Jesus

Brad Stevens – Butler head coach – 33 years old – quit job at Eli Lilly in 2000 – became a volunteer at Butler – took job at Applebee’s – April 2007 became head coach – Monday team will play for national championship – fire lit in him by basketball as a kid watching games before kindergarten

Choose to live – choose to believe – choose to go somewhere

Psalm 2:8(NLT)  Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession.

1.             Getting the big picture

The great co-mission – redemption

Neighbor – City – Country – World

Evangelism – Social Justice

Go to the world – world coming to us – 6000 Burmese refugees in Fort Wayne

2.             Embracing new paradigms

New Zealand’s Martin Aircraft Company – Jetpack – range of 31 miles – 63 miles per hour – $100,000 – ultralight

New frontiers – internet over 1 billion users – mobile phone has changed our lives – internet paradigm shift 100 times greater than that of mobile phone – virtual world mission field – Church of Fools experiment 2004/41 thousand logged on for services – Life Church TV.com – virtual campus – 1400 on a weekend in 2007 – launched first mission trip in real world from people who met in virtual world – 70 million people in virtual world – 1% being reached – largest unreached people group – one of the founders of Church of Fools remarks – “it’s like someone has created a new town and no one has thought to build a church there”

We must be open to the creativity of the Holy Spirit

We must take advantage of technology – global opportunities

We must make redemption – front and center – relationally – social networks

3.             Making it personal

The significance of prayer

The release of resources – supported missionaries – projects

The opportunity to be “hands-on”

         Mike Mortensen – Uganda

Love Church/Stacey and Jodie Weaver’s Community Group

Wings/Associated Churches/Interfaith/FWSUM/Allen County Jail

New ministry launches

Tom Hinton – Dominican Republic/Haiti

Joe and Lana Fritz – prison ministry/street ministry

         Peter Connor – Water for the Children

Upcoming opportunities

         Rolling Thunder 2010

         Associated Churches Haiti trip

         Youth Dominican Republic/Haiti trip

 Psalm 2:8(NLT)  Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession.

John 4:23-24(NLT)  ²³ But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. ²⁴ For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

 1.             The connection between music and worship

 2.             The value of worship in spiritual battle

Jehoshaphat got news vast armies aligned against him –prayed and fasted – going into battle – put the singers in front

 2 Chronicles 20:21-22(NLT)  ²¹ After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:  “Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!”  ²² At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves.

At the end of the battle – took three days to sort out the plunder – fourth day gathered in valley of blessing – returned with singing

Three dimensions affected – heaven – hell – earth

God’s will done in heaven – blocked in hell – interfered with on earth

Contradictory paradigms

         Worship on earth connects with heaven

         Strongholds from hell invade earth

Worship connection with blessings anchored in heaven and released on earth – breaks strongholds anchored in hell attached on earth

Prayer time in our Sunday services worship – atmosphere – power of unity – love – faith released

3.             The significance of practicing God’s presence

Psalm 46:10-11(NLT)  ¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God!  I will be honored by every nation.  I will be honored throughout the world.”  ¹¹ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.

Some called to extended prayer/fasting/study

All called at times to extended prayer/fasting/study

Essential to recognize – we are the temple of God – the presence of God indwells us

Music and worship warfare are tools to access the presence and to leverage the presence – presence is there all the time – live in the presence

Spirit – soul – body – connect with your spirit – connected to God’s Spirit

This week – practice the presence of God – expand your awareness of that presence wherever you are – create a lifestyle of worship