Resonate Community Church

As Believers in Jesus Christ we have a sure sense of our Identity, not because of who we are, but because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. As John concludes his first Epistle, he reminds us that We Know who we Are!

Just as breathing is integral to working out physically, so too as Jesus Followers, we must pray. There are no options to prayer, we must just learn to pray and then practice prayer.

God has chosen to reveal Himself to us through His written word, the Bible. It makes sense then that there is expected of us as Jesus Followers, an intensity of effort in reading and accurately understanding God's Word. This is our first exercise...Studying God's Word.

In the passages of scripture that speak most clearly about Spiritual Exercising, the focus remains clear; godliness, righteousness and a life that is pleasing to God. To sum it up, we'd say Spiritual Training is focused on practicing a radical, alien lifestyle modeled on the character of God and motivated by His grace.

When talking about Spiritual Training, it's only fair to share 5 Truths about Training...5 things that we must keep in mind as we approach this topic: Purpose, Power, Practice, Pain and Profit.

To engage in a life of pursing God, there are certain exercises we can practice that will help us along the road. This morning we begin to lay a foundation for Spiritual Training: Exercises to grow godliness.

The author of Psalm 42 gives to us a picture of one who both thirsts for God as well as one struggling with the painfulness of life. In it we find one with a foundation of truth about God as well as specific habits to which he turns in the pain of life. Through it he remains faithful to God in his thirst for God in the desert of life.

In perhaps one of the most beautiful passages of scripture, the God of Heaven calls to the Thirsty..."Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters..." Are you running to the Gospel to quench your thirst in fountain of Grace?

Psalm 34:8 calls us to Taste and See that the Lord is Good. The human heart carries within it an itch, a desire, a yearning for something more to this life. It's only when we run to Jesus that we can find the true salve for that itch that will satisfy and fulfill our souls.

Resonate Community Church

It is time for us to stop just being a fan of Jesus and focus on being a true follower. In Matthew 16:21-26 we see a conversation Jesus had with His disciples laying out for them what it looks like to follow after Him. This was not an "if I feel like it" suggestion, there is no passing over this, no avoiding it, it is a command. We need to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.

If we are honest we have all experienced times in our lives when God didn't show up the way we thought He would or we wanted Him to. What does this have to do with Palm Sunday? What was the crowd that day expecting from Jesus and how does that translate into what we expect from God? These Plan B moments in life tend to reveal our hearts. Why do we respond the wrong way during these times and what can we do to train ourselves to respond correctly?

There are many things in our world that are uncertain. However, the Bible is a book of certainties and absolutes! The world struggles with tolerating some of these certainties. As followers of Jesus we can have certainty in an uncertain world.

The final characteristic that serves to verify our identity as true Jesus followers is Enduring Hope. What is this hope? It is a fiercely tenacious and confident certainty in our future based on the work of Jesus Christ that keeps our souls securely anchored regardless of the storms hurled against us.

A second characteristic our identity as Jesus followers should display is that of a laboring love. Is there enough evidence in our lives to verify our identity?

Over the next three weeks we will examine and answer this question: If your life depended on it, would you be able to verify your identity as a genuine Jesus follower of Jesus Christ? We'll start this morning by looking at a 'Working Faith'.

As we turn to Genesis 11 we come to the story of the Tower of Babel. It doesn't take long to realize that the story is not really about a tower, but about the heart of Mankind. The lesson is clear: Prideful rebellion against the God of creation will always reap unintended consequences.

As we approach this interesting chapter of scripture that is often referred to as the 'Table of Nations', we recognize that the lessons from us come more in the form of application. We see that getting the Big Picture of 'where things come from' can help us stay on guard against temptation and sin in the midst of the messiness of life.

Having seen Noah's obedience, God now allows us to see his failure as well. Not so that we get caught up in the unrevealed details but rather to demonstrate how we can show grace to others. Nothing's changed...sin always ruins, but more importantly Nothing's changed in that God will Redeem!!

The flood is finished, the earth is remade and Noah sacrifices to God. Into this God speaks the most amazing word...He makes a covenant with all flesh for the rest of Human history and hung His bow in the clouds. Through this God has displayed for us His amazing character of Grace and Faithfulness.