Desert Breeze Community Church

Paul had shared the gospel in Galatia and as a result several churches had began to grow and thrive in the area. However, there were some who started a smear campaign against Paul and his gospel message. Paul gives his thesis consisting of three denials and one affirmation (v.11-12) and then defends it with the evidence and power of story (v. 13-24). We see that the story of the gospel transformed Paul’s story and can transform ours.

Linger

Partying is rarely associated with the Bible and Christ-followers… but it should be! The Bible’s many references to singing, dancing, celebration, feasts, and festivities depict not only worship but also fun, laughter, and pleasure. The Kingdom of God is a Party – and everyone is invited!

Everyone lives for something. That something is the Lord of your life whether you want to call it that or not. Jesus is the only Lord that forgives you when you fail Him and fulfills you when you follow Him. Any other Lord is terribly unforgiving and ultimately unfulfilling.

What is greatness? What does it mean to live a great life? Besides Jesus, who has been the greatest and most influential person in your life? When you die will people say at your funeral that you were a great person?

There is a life in Christ that all the success in this world can’t give you and all the suffering in this world can’t take from you (John10:10). The only way to experience this life is by believing in Jesus Christ. Belief is truth about the person and work of Jesus entering the head (content), igniting the heart (conviction) and outworking through the hands (commitment). John shows us in his prologue (vv1-18) what it means to believe in Christ by answering three questions:

Unbelief is at the root of all our problems! Whenever you are terribly anxious, angry, or depressed or struggling with pride and/or idolatry it’s because at that moment you’ve forgotten who the God of the Bible is, or you’ve never really known Him. There is nothing more powerful and practical than to know the God of the Bible intimately through His Son Jesus Christ.

The happiest people on this planet are not the wealthiest people but the most generous people. Some are rich and some are poor, but most have a moderate income, and have learned how to find JOY in Generosity.

Philippians 4:10-141) Be Connected to God’s People. 2) Be Comfortable with God’s Providence. 3) Be Confident in God’s Presence.

The Apostle Paul has learned to be content in all circumstances. Now it is our turn as Fully Devoted Followers of Jesus Christ to learn how to be content and experience JOY in Discontentment.

Anxiety issues in our modern times are out of control. The key to finding joy (peace) in anxiety is learning how to apply cosmic (eternal) principles to common (temporal) places through spiritual disciplines. You must get good at applying who Christ is and what He has done for you specific to where your heart is most restless.

Perseverance is essential for facing life’s challenges. It is much easier to quit than to persevere but in the long run the costs of quitting are much higher than the costs to persevere. Perseverance is about finishing strong. In this text Paul gives us a formula for finishing strong: Holy Discontent + Holy Ambition = Holy Life that Finishes Strong!

Most people think the Christian message is an invitation to be religious (moralism: get your act together, do good works, obey the 10 commandments, etc.) rather than entering into the most soul satisfying and life liberating relationship you’ll ever know. Paul shows us in this text from his own life that there is a major difference between being religious (works righteousness) and having a relationship with God (faith righteousness).

Deep soul satisfaction can only be found in Christ which will lead to a life of Sacrifice. Sacrifice is giving up something that you love for something that you love more. Paul uses two men as examples of the kind of people who have been transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and are living lives of satisfaction and sacrifice.

Stuck points are those chronic hurts, habits and hang-ups that won’t go away but only seem to get worse through the years. If you don’t deal with your stuck points, then your stuck points will certainly deal with you. God doesn’t convict us (reveals our stuck points) to shame us but to satisfy us and set us free.

Conflict resolution skills are in short supply in our American Culture. Does the Bible offer any help for our relational conflict, divisiveness, hatefulness, and alienation that we see in our country, communities, homes, marriages, and even in churches? Yes, the joy in Conflict is found in Christ and the unity He brings.

Paul was going through difficult suffering as he faced imprisonment, the threat of death, separation from believers, antagonism from fellow Christians and much more. Paul now waited to go before Caesar to find out if he was going to live or die. Paul had trusted, obeyed and rejoiced in the Lord through past (1:12) and current (1:13-18a) suffering. But what about in the future?

Relationships are not a luxury but a necessity for our emotional and spiritual wellbeing (Gen2:18). Our sinful tendency is anonymity and individuality. Anonymity is not wanting anyone to know your struggles (Fear) and individuality is not wanting anyone’s help (Pride). Most people fight their battles alone and keep their interior world private, even in the midst of Christian community.

There is an unspeakable and glorious JOY in Christ that should be normal for every Christian! In Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi he not only personally demonstrates but also teaches us how we can have this JOY in every situation of life.

There is a difference between knowing about God and truly knowing God. One of the marks of truly knowing God is spiritual growth. The whole book of 2 Peter is all about spiritual growth.

A citizen is a person who legally belongs to a country and has the rights and protection of that country. Citizens adopt the culture and practices of the nation or kingdom to which they belong. Every person is born into the kingdom of this world, in which Satan rules (2Cor4:4) and must be born again to see and enter the Kingdom of Heaven (John3:3,5). You are born again by grace through faith in Christ Jesus (John1:12).

Insecurity: is a feeling of general unease or nervousness that comes from perceiving of oneself to be vulnerable or inferior in some way that can lead to doubts and fears that control us.

Are you God’s Masterpiece? Is there evidence that God is working in you? Is there evidence that the God who began a good work in you is carrying it on to completion (Phil1:6)?

Over the centuries church “membership” has become less like what God intended and more like what quenches our earthly desires. Culturally "being a member" is more relative to a "club" that serves its customers, offering narrowly defined enjoyments, a singular identifying label and limited benefits that can expire. On the contrary, God’s vision for church membership is about blood-bought Kingdom citizenship. It offers a multifarious kingdom inheritance with eternal benefits and an imperishable identity that cannot be revoked.

Why do Christians gather every week? What are we doing? We gather to worship. Not to be entertained, not because it provides social standing in the community, and we certainly don’t meet to fulfill some sort of religious duty. We’re gathering because of this: We are Worshippers!

Imagine having courage to face anything, joy beyond circumstances, edifying and healing relationships, a perpetual song in your heart and a life abounding with thanksgiving and loving service to others. Sound too good to be true? The Spirit-filled life is the most amazing life you could ever hope or dream to live this side of heaven!

It doesn’t make sense that Almighty God would have children characterized by inordinate anxiety, anger and hopelessness. Chronic inordinate emotions in a believer is often the result of Gospel amnesia. To the degree you remember and relish who God is, who you are as his child, and what you have been given by His grace is to the degree you will experience love, joy, peace and abounding hope in all circumstances.

God is not a restrictor but a liberator! You are never freer than when you are fully devoted to Jesus Christ. Freedom isn’t doing whatever you want to do but doing what you were created to do. We were designed to know, serve, and love God supremely - and when we are faithful to that design, we flourish.

Everyone is building their identity on something. Our identity is what gives us meaning (What are you living for?) and worth (How well are you doing?). Identity apart from God is fundamentally unstable. Understanding our identity in Christ will give us an unshakable Identity of meaning and worth that all the success in this world can’t give you and all the suffering in this world can’t take from you.

Spiritual warfare is a hotly contested issue. One author said “Some people make the mistake of seeing Satan as a second god, viewing life as an ultimate conflict between good and evil.” Not only is this a misunderstanding of spiritual warfare, it also rejects the biblical view of the sovereignty of God over Satan. We must go to Scripture to understand what role we play in spiritual warfare. Throughout the book of 1 John we have seen that true spiritual warfare is done by abiding in Christ, fighting for righteousness, having pure doctrine, and lastly we will end the series by talking about prayer. Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons we have in this spiritual warfare and John gives us instruction for how and why we should be praying.

The Corona Virus has put our world on edge. As the number of confirmed cases grow so does fear and uncertainty. As Christians how should we be responding to this Pandemic? With Faith that overcomes Fear! Christianity is not a denial of the reality of this pandemic but embracing a greater reality that we have a God who is bigger than this pandemic, and we have a God who is stronger than any of the challenges we may face in the future.

Our love for God and others grows out of an experience of God’s love for us. You can’t just grit your teeth and try harder to be a more loving person. True spiritual fruit of love, joy and peace comes from being swept up in intimate, loving encounters with Jesus Christ.

It is not always easy to know who you can trust. It is not always easy to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys as the movies would lead you to believe. Truth and error are not as obvious as we would like them to be primarily because Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2Cor11:14). The battle field is our minds and what we believe (2Cor4:4, 11:3-4). If you don’t learn to be discerning between truth and error, you will inevitably be victimized (John8:31-32, 10:10; 2Cor10:3-5).

The Bible is very clear that everyone is in one of only two families. You are either in the family of the Devil or the family of God (John 8:35-47). We are born into this world as children of the Devil, but we must be born again to be children of God. In our pluralistic world that is not very politically correct, but it is very Biblically true, and the characteristics of each family are very distinct. The Children of God love God’s Son (Theological), love God’s Word (Moral), and love God’s people (Social). This love for God’s people is more than just words it is love in deed and truth (v18).

Righteousness is a characteristic that is unmistakably important to the Christian life. Nevertheless, many professing believers misunderstand it, substituting it for other concepts and vice versa. One of 1 John’s primary purposes is communicating what righteousness is and what it looks like in our lives. In chapter 3 John takes on the subject unapologetically.

The Christian life is not a morally restrained will but a supernaturally transformed heart. It is not behavioral modification but heart transformation. Fear and pride can restrain the will but only God’s love can transform the heart.

Our beliefs have consequences. If we come to believe wrong things about God, we will think, feel and behave in wrong ways about ourselves and life’s circumstances. Lies about God will reduce our potential, impair our vision and imprison our lives. Lies will enslave you but the truth will set you free

If we as Christians do not change from the inside-out—we are tempted to find external methods to satisfy our need to feel that we are different from those outside the faith. Boundary-Marker Spirituality is highly visible, relatively superficial practices that allow people to distinguish who is an insider and who is an outsider of the Family of God. Even worse, insiders become proud and judgmental toward outsiders. (John Ortberg “The Life You’ve Always Wanted”)

Maturity isn’t age, appearance, activity, achievements, or academics. Maturity is becoming more and more like Christ in character and conduct

Some people are easier to love than others. The gospel frees you to love people who hate you without needing love from then in return. All the love you need you have in Christ. It is the love you have been looking for your whole life!

All other religions send ADVISORS to tell us what we must DO to be right with God.Christianity sends an ADVOCATE to tell us what He has DONE to make us right with God.

To Walk in the Light is a condition to maintain intimacy with God not to attain intimacy with God. Intimacy with God is a blood bought gift from God but to maintain and grow that intimacy with God you need to Walk in the Light. In fact, to Walk in the Light is a sign that you really do have intimacy with God.

Satan delights in keeping true Christians unsure of their salvation because they’ll never experience the freedom, joy and confidence God wants for them. But he also delights in keeping those on their way to hell deluded into thinking that they are on their way to heaven, their consciences immunized from seeing their need to repent. To Know That You Know God is the believer’s ark in life’s storms, peace in panic, joy in sadness, the power and presence of God to face anything. “Christian assurance is Heaven on Earth!” –Thomas Brooks (1654)

We have a new year, new me culture that looks at January 1st as a magical day were anything and everything can be transformed. New year’s resolutions such as working out, a new bible reading plan, a new budget, a new attitude on life, etc. are not bad, but if they are done out of obligation they don't transform they merely modify. Malachi gives us insight on why we need to be transformed and what it means to be forever changed by the Father Heart of God.

You can give without loving but you can’t love without giving (John 3:16; Rom5:8). Thesis: Because we are generously loved by God, we will love generously both God and others. Normal Christianity is love philanthropy—receiving so much love from God that you recklessly give it away without expecting anything in return.

As the marriage goes so goes the family & as the family goes so goes society. The deterioration of our society is due to the delinquency of our children due to the disfunction of the family due to the high divorce rate. The Bible says that marriage is to be a lifelong monogamous relationship between a man & woman who are Christians

Why does the topic of marriage show up so early in the book of Genesis? Because as the marriage goes so goes the family and as the family goes so goes society. Satan's assault on the institution of marriage shouldn't surprise us. The Bible says that marriage is to be a lifelong monogamous relationship between a man and a woman who are Christians.

The God of the Galaxies invites us into a relationship with Him that involves a true dialogue. A mutual giving and receiving of love and truth.

You are what you love. And you worship what you love. And you talk about what you love. And you might not love what you say you love. If you were accused of being a wholehearted worshipper of God, would there be enough evidence to convict you?