MOP This Week: September 2, 2015

Hope this finds you focused on eternal things, instead of the little things that distract us from what's really important. It's pretty easy to get sucked into the black hole of the trivial. I know that well. "Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and everything else will be added to you". Matt 6:33. We always have time to do what is first on our list.

As I typed this, I realize my computer doesn't recognize the word "Unforgiveness". Each time I typed it, the computer underlined it, indicating it was misspelled. But when I clicked the auto correct button, it told me "no suggestions were found". I think it's pretty powerful that even my computer recognizes that Unforgiveness shouldn't be a word. We are working on realizing the same thing together this fall!

I don't know about you, but I've been enjoying the brutal honesty that James MacDonald has been confronting us with concerning the need to forgive in the last two weeks. The Holy Spirit prompted discussion following has been great, too. I hope it has challenged you like it has me to deal with any areas of unforgiveness. I pray that you will allow God to meddle in the locked-up back rooms of your heart through this study.

This Week: We'll talk about the "The Fallout of Unforgiveness is Huge!" We will also learn the 3 "I won't bring it up" statements that are central to the process of forgiveness.

Bring your BIBLES and your book!

PS… I know some of you have been out of town, so check out the earlier post so you can hit the ground running when you arrive this week. It's definitely not too late to join us! It's a good refresher for us all

8/26/15: The Unpayable Debt!

Week 2 started with Jesus' parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35. The short version is: A man with a debt he could not pay is forgiven the debt by his master. The forgiven man then turns around and throws his servant in prison for not being able to pay him the insignificant amount that servant owed him. The ungrateful servant is then thrown into prison by the original master, because he didn't pay it forward. You can read it by clicking the link above.

Obviously, that is like us sometimes. Totally forgiven by God through Jesus' death for our crimes committed against Him, and then harboring unforgiveness toward someone else.

James MacDonald hit us with some common rationalizations that we use in our mind to justify holding on to an offense:

1) The offense is too big. (Reality: That's the perfect reason to let it go. Why carry something so heavy?)

2) Time will heal it on its own. (Reality: Time allows unforgiveness to fester and grow)

3) I'm waiting until they say I'm sorry. (Reality: Probably not going to happen. If you forgive in advance, you'll be ready if it does happen)

4) I can't forgive what I can't forget. (Reality: You can't really forget until you are able to forgive)

5 ) If I forgive, they will just do it again. (Reality: Do you really want to be hanging on to the last offense, when they do it again? Baggage adds up quickly.)

He made us wrestle with the biblical conclusion that, "We always have to forgive everyone for everything. There are no limits." While this may seem impossible with men, we learn everything is possible with God (and only with Him).

Which of the 5 rationalizations of unforgiveness have you been camping on?

What have you been considering impossible to forgive?

Join us over the next 4 Wednesdays as we continue to unpack them! Can't wait to see you there.

Next Week: We'll talk about the "The Fallout of Unforgiveness is Huge!" We will also learn the 3 "I won't bring it up" statements that are central to the process of forgiveness.

Bring your BIBLES and your book!

8/19/15: Have The Funeral – Grieve and Leave

Ahh...The 3 legged race. The event of yesteryear's 3rd grade field day. The result was usually a few bruises, some rope burn, and maybe a twisted ankle. One thing was for learned for sure: If you're trying to get to the finish line, it sure is a lot harder when you're tied to somebody else! That's the way it is with holding onto past grudges. Unforgiveness leaves us tied to someone else! And that sure does make the race harder to finish. To bring that point home we had our own 3 legged race. Congrats to Rusty and Carl for their supreme 3rd grade athletic skills!

As we opened up the James MacDonald series Have the Funeral, we learned definition of Forgiveness: Forgiveness is the decision to release a person from the obligation that resulted when they injured you. Most challenging was how scripture pointed out that forgiveness is really not optional.

Mark 11:25 "And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."

Luke 6:37 "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Matt 6: 12 "…and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."

Forgiven people forgive. Forgiving people is not the means to God's forgiveness. It's not the plan of salvation . It's the proof of salvation.

Finally, James MacDonald talked about true forgiveness being a combination of Crisis and Process.

"It's tempting to dabble in the process first rather than face the crisis. The crisis is a doorway; the process is a journey. The crisis is a turning point. the process is a series of ongoing decision. The crisis is intense, do or not do, final and definite; the process involves time, includes backwards and forwards, growing, learning and changing. A genuine crisis is not reversible while a process may include a certain amount of failure along the way.Trying the process of forgiveness without the crisis of forgiveness doesn't result in freedom."

The other stand out verse (we even somewhat memorized it) was: John 13:17 "If you know these things, blessed are you if you DO them". It was a realization that even though we may academically understand forgiveness, it is not until we put it in action that we can find freedom.

Now that you are caught up, join us for the next 5 weeks! Next week: The Unpayable Debt

Fall Kicks Off August 19

Maybe you've been saying, "I'm gonna get plugged back in somewhere this Fall." If so, tonight is the night!! Men of Purpose starts up again tonight at 6:30.

Let's hit CTRL, ALT, DELETE and do a system restart (Mac user won't know what I'm talking about :)) It's time to get out of the old rut and start a new one. This fall were starting off for a few weeks dealing with the past. If you're like most of us there may be a grudge, big or little, that's been festering for a while. We're going to tackle this one with James MacDonald's Series: Have the Funeral - God's plan for your past. That's right, talking forgiveness.

As always we'll stir each other to finding and executing the purpose God has set for us. Guaranteed lively discussion, most of the time led by the Holy Spirit. Occasionally, led by Elwood's jokes!! Our goal is to have a place where we can be authentic men of God, pray for each other, and grow in the knowledge and call of Him who made us.

NEW ROOM: They've shuffled rooms on us this fall. We will meet in the room directly across from the sanctuary side doors (Room 117)

Finally, the youth are having a Spaghetti Supper as a fundraiser for their mission trip at 5:30pm. Cost is $6 Adults with a discount for kiddos. So give the the cook in the house a night off and come support the youth!!

Tell some one! and see you there.

I Need Thee Every Hour

Tonight we discussed that humbling ourselves before God, leads to realizing our need for Him. Our need for Him drives us to spend time with Him. Spending time with Him leads us to know Him. When we know Him, we love Him. When we Love him, We obey Him. When we obey him, He reveals Himself to us. Whichofcourse humbles us, and starts the addictive cycle of following God.

We closed with the prayer above. Sam Robinson, sings all 9 parts of the harmony all acapella. Listen with your eyes closed. Make it your prayer.

(And as this is an embedded Youtube link, I can't vouch for what kind of ads may precede the video. Hopefully none)

This Week: September 24

To me, the most difficult camera during a baseball broadcast to run is the High Home camera. It's the angle behind the plate used to show where the ball is going. If the operator takes his eye of the ball for even a second, the tiny white 90 mph speck can become instantly lost in light blue sky. Once you've lost sight of the ball in your viewfinder, it's very difficult to complete your assignment of showing where the ball went. The result: disappointed viewers and lots of yelling in the headsets. Taking your eye off the ball affects lots of people.

The same is so true with my time with God. If I take my eyes of Him for even one day, the consequences can look pretty ugly. And as Kingdom Men who are assigned with the tasks of spiritual leadership in our circles of influence - that affects lots of people, too. Not to mention it can cause unnecessary friction.

The enemy has been wearing me out this week. Perhaps it's because we as a group are taking back part of the territory he thought was his. However, the reality is I've let many distractions pull me away from spending the daily intimate time with Him. It only takes one day. I can safely say, I reaped what I have sown.

I am more convinced Joshua 1:9 was written for us too, when the Lord said,

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."

The opposite is true as well.

You ever felt that way? Tonight we wrap up our discussion on Week 3 with: Focus on God, Not People and Stay Connected to God's Word. I don't think that last topic is coincidence.

Bring your BIBLES and your book!

This Week: September 17, 2014

Moses, Abe, even Jesus...they all spent time in the wilderness, as God lead them to their destiny. Looks like wilderness times, may become a "given" on the way to becoming Kingdom Men. As a matter of fact if you check out Matthew 4 and the same chapter from Dr. Luke, you'll recount how Jesus spent around 40 days in the wilderness. It was during this time he was greatly tempted by the enemy. If you'll look closely, however, each time he was tempted, he responded by quoting scripture. The Word of God is powerful stuff. That's why we are trying to write it on the chalkboard of our hearts each week. As we store it up inside of us, we will be able to use it drag us through the wilderness as well.

If you've been going through a season of "wilderness" yourself, you may be encouraged that immediately following Jesus time in the wilderness is when his ministry started! In both Matthew and Luke, the very next section on record is the begining of Jesus ministry. Could it be possible that your wilderness has been to prepare you for how God is soon going to mightily use you.

I think you'll agree that last weeks video was like drinking from a fire hydrant. So much rich content from the word of God. Tony Evans made it practical with the 4 Principles to Taking Your Destiny.

Leave Yesterday behind
Seize your inheritance
Focus on God, not people
Stay tied to God's Word.

That's what we're talking about this week. Take time the next 3 mornings, if you haven't already, to dig through the devotions on page 61-79. As you do this, take time to savor the questions. If you can't answer a question immediately, don't be tempted to just skip it. I find that if I can't think of anything, I'll pause and ask God to bring an answer to the surface through his Holy Spirit . This week when I took time to do that instead of rushing through, He revealed some specific things I needed to change. Remember, this is not just a homework assignment, it's a meeting with the Creator of the universe! See what he will reveal to you.

Write down what stands out to you in your book and also bring it to the table in our Let's Talk section under Kingdom Man. To keep things private register here, or login. If you're having trouble logging in, just let us know.

If you don't have a book, Lifeway has them for sale. Here are Week 3 Devotionals in case you don't have a copy handy yet. Praying that you will richly encounter God this week!

Tell Me About Your Pigs!

A special thanks to all those helped polish off my mother-in-law's chocolate cake last week. Glad we could all take the calories home instead of me bringing them all back in the next few weeks.

I don't know the last time you read the account of the demon possessed man in Mark 5. I was checking it out while waiting on my flight today. Read it yourself for the details, but the Cliffnotes version is basically this:

A man who was out of control lived in a cave and wandered lonely on a hillside for years. He was filled with uncontrollable rage and was desperate for a way to control his demons. Jesus comes along. Sees the man in agony and cast out all the darkness that's been plaguing him for years into about 2000 pigs who proceed to run over a cliff into a lake and drown. The man was very grateful. The pig farmer, Im thinking, probably not so much.

What a day that was for Him! Finally he was free from the rage he had never been able to control...all because he ran to Jesus. While there is obvious powerful personal application in that part of story alone, its the end of the story that caught my attention today.

The man, overjoyed at what he had seen Jesus do chased Him down to the boat. Jesus told him,

"19 Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

He told his own folks what Jesus had done for them, and the people were AMAZED. I find the same is true today. When we tell what God is doing in our lives, people are encouraged, because its not just a story from history, but proof that God is at work today, and in a personal way. Interesting that Jesus also said, "Go to your own people". He said bring it home. Your family. Your friends. Your circle of influence. Perhaps even those you hang out with on Wednesday nights.

In the Let's Talk forum (menu above) there is a section called God Sightings. Will you go there this week and tell your story? Where have you seen Him at work this week? What prayer has He answered? What new truth has He shown you? What has he convicted you of or rescued you from? It need not be as profound as 2000 pigs running over a cliff. Just plain simple "Here's how Im watching God move me to the next step"

Also feel free to tell your faith story. As we become comfortable sharing with each other great and mighty things God has done, we will be bolder to share them outside the bubble of church. As we, Kingdom Men, begin to "tell how much The Lord has done, and how much mercy He has had on us," people WILL be amazed!

This Week: September 3, 2014

This week we will watch the second video in the Kingdom Man series: Greatness is Your Destiny. We will see that we're not designed to just "survive" life, but are made for far more. We'll also look at the difference between the world's definition of greatness and what the Designer's definition is. Might even be some surprising "how-to"s on becoming great.

If you've been out of pocket the last few weeks, come on anyway. We'll catch you up, and would value your input.

Phillipians 1: ⁴In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy⁵because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus

Isn't that great news! God is continually working on us to make us more like Him. Wherever you are in your faith journey, we hope you will allow God to move you to the Next Step. Ultimately, this will happen as you spend more time one-on-one with Him. However, our prayer is that Wednesday nights might be a catalyst for that to happen.

Take time, if you haven't already, to spend time with Him in some of the devos in your book. There is some rich stuff there. Write down what stands out to you and bring it to the table in our Let's Talk section under Kingdom Man. To keep things private register here, or login. If you're having trouble logging in, just let us know.

We will have extra books available ($12), if you were MIA last week. Praying that you will richly encounter God this week!

RE-CAP 8/27/14: Ctrl+Alt+Del, Sometimes You Need a Reset

Great night of discussion last Wednesday. If you weren't able to make it we spent most of the time discussing what God had shown us through time spent with him in the devotionals. We watched a teaser for the second video. We will actually watch the second video next week, so it's not too late.

We also had a CTRL+ALT+DEL moment. Just like when your computer continues to give you fits and blue screens of death, sometimes you just need a reset. A time to start over. Colossians 1:16 reminds us that there is a relationship we are meant to have. Speaking of Jesus:

"We are created by Him, and for Him"

So when we take a life that was created for Jesus' purpose, and we run it according to our own desire...well it's a pretty good definition of sin. And all the biggies fall under "You run the universe, God. I'll take care of running my life".

Sin comes with a price tag, however. Not only does it separate you from God (Isaiah 59:2), which is a lonely place, but Romans 6:23 says:

"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ."

When I go work a football game, at the end of the day, I deserve my wage. Well death is what the Bible says is wages of sin. We get separated by that relationship we're supposed to have because of our sin. Somebody has to pay the price. Mercifully, that is what Jesus did on the cross. When he was up there dying he was absorbing all the consequences of the sin you and I have.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whosever believes in Him shall have eternal life. John 3:16.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and will forgive us of our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

We also talked about that when John 3:16 says "whoever believes" it doesn't so much mean an intellectual belief. It's more like how a drowning man grabs on to a lifeguard -- grabbing on to him like he is their only hope. By the end of the night we took the challenge from Acts 3:19, and took some time to talk to God.

¹⁹Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

Refreshing is something we can all appreciate. If you missed out, and God's been working on you heart, maybe you're in need of time of refreshing. you may want to talk to him, too. You could pray something like:

Lord, I'm sorry for running my own life. I've been living for me. I resign as of today. I believe you Son, Jesus Christ, paid my death penalty when He died on the cross. I'm turning from a life of "my way" and I'm putting all my trust in Jesus Christ, to give me a relationship with You, and to get me to heaven. Lord, from today on I'm Yours"

You know it's funny, we were discussing all the facts we new about Tony Stewart last night. We came up with a pretty good list. However, we realized that although we knew a lot about him, nobody in the room actually new him personally.

It's entirely possible that if you've grown up in the church, that you've learned all about Jesus. Maybe we know where he lived, who he hung out with, some of the miracles He did, even how he was born and how he died. However, its possible that we've known all about Jesus, without knowing him personally. If you've been feeling like you've been missing out on all you were meant to be, this could be the case.

This fall is all about taking the Next Step spiritually from wherever you are. It's about starting real life intentional, daily relationship with the Creator of the universe. It's about finding out why you were made for Him, and what He has created you to do. It's going to be an exciting ride, and I'm glad you've joined us!

MOP This Week: September 2, 2015

The Fallout of Unforgiveness is Huge!

Wednesday Supper

8/26/15: The Unpayable Debt!

Wednesday Supper

8/19/15: Have The Funeral – Grieve and Leave

Wednesday Supper

Fall Kicks Off August 19

Have The Funeral: God’s Plan for Your Past.

Wednesday Supper

I Need Thee Every Hour

I Need Thee Every Hour

This Week: September 24

The View from Behind Home Plate

Wednesday Supper

This Week: September 17, 2014

“There’s no man who has reached his destiny without going though the wilderness!”

Wednesday Supper

Tell Me About Your Pigs!

This Week: September 3, 2014

“Greatness is when you achieve the reason for which you were created, and maximize its purpose in the lives of others.”

Wednesday Supper

RE-CAP 8/27/14: Ctrl+Alt+Del, Sometimes You Need a Reset