Calvary Baptist Church - Canyon Texas - David Crump, Pastor

Eric Metaxas' book, Seven Men It was March of 1783. the American war for independence was won. It would be another 6 months until a peace treaty with England was signed. But the mood among the American army was turning ugly. The new government was broke. Congress had made promises to pay the men who gave so much over the years of the war, but the promises could not be kept. The US government could not pay the back pay and pensions it had promised. George Washington became aware of a meeting of officers that was set to discuss what has become known as the "Newburgh Conspiracy." The conspiracy was an idea by US congressmen and American officers to either seize control of the government or to disband the army all together and let the British overthrow the fledgling government. Their threat was to force congress to pay the men who fought for independence. General Washington sent orders that the meeting of the officers was canceled and called a meeting of his own with them on March 16, 1783. He spoke to them

Discipleship is following Jesus. It is a commitment to a relationship to him. It looks like obedience, but is born out of love for Him Hebrews says following Jesus is like running a race Hebrews 12:1, 2 ESV Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. It says there are things that can cling to us, entangle us, and keep us from running the race well. What holds you back? 1. The trap of complacency Too busy Too lazy Care more about your kingdom more than God's kingdom Paul instructed the believers to warn those who were idle in the church 2 Thessalonians 3:13 And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good. 2. The trap of defeat and fear Alwa

The Universe Declares His Glory The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. (Psalm 19:1, 2 NIV) We Were Created for God's Glory everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (Isaiah 43:7 NIV) John 17:1-5 1. The godhead, glorifying each other, constant glory resonating between The Father and the Son. Distinct, yet unified in being and glory. 2. Jesus, given authority over all people, able to grant eternal life 3. What is eternal life? Knowing God and the One He sent, Jesus Christ. 4. Jesus glorified God by fulfilling the Father's will. He glorified God with His life. 5. As he obediently fulfilled his last, his most difficult act of obedience, He asked the Father to glorify him. Glorify Him in His death - by accepting his suffering and death as payment for our sins - and for God to resurrect him and give him the glory he shared with the Father in heaven.

Discipleship begins with relationship Following Jesus starts with being with him Before you can work for him, you have to connect with him God filled the earth with wonderful, beautiful things in a way that reflects his beauty and majesty and worth. But nothing he created is more beautiful, majestic, or worthwhile than He is. Our passage today is about bearing fruit. The Bible is rich in metaphors about producing fruit Israel is compared to a vine in the OT. Our growth in the character of God is called the fruit of the Spirit One of the Genesis mandates was, be fruitful, go fill the earth. About reproducing and spreading the authority and image of God all over the earth, But our image of God was distorted by sin. In our passage today, Jesus will tell his disciples to be fruitful there is a prerequisite: you have to be with me. John 15:1-11 V. 2 cut off or pruned Cut off - maybe a reference to one who never belonged to him. Maybe a reference to losing all reward for not following Christ, but not salvatio

Salvation cost you nothing but discipleship will cost you everything. Salvation happens in an instant; discipleship takes a lifetime. Salvation is something God does for you; discipleship is something we do with God. We focus on the moment of a decision, but Christianity is a lifelong devotion to Jesus. Jesus never said that following him was easy or quick, but he did say following him is worth whatever it costs. A disciple is one who follows Jesus Not just "saved" - but obedient and faithful Not someone who carries a Christian label, but someone who wants to do what Jesus says Luke 14:25-35 Jesus tells us 5 ways "following me will cost you" Vv. 25-26 hate those you love and your own life No one taught more about loving people than Jesus. What does this mean? Our relationship with him should be far and above any other relationship we have. Our relationship with him is supreme, above our own families No one can be as significant to us as him Following Jesus is to have him as your first love. V. 27 Romans

Matthew 13:44 The kingdom of God - not a physical kingdom or realm, but The rule and reign of God. When we think of someone ruling over us, what do we think of? An oppressive government? The English crown over the American colonies? We think of someone ruling over us, telling us what to do, but with no real concern for us. But what does Gods rule over us look like? Jesus said His yoke is easy and his burden is light. His rule over us is the defeat of sin and death and salvation, righteousness, and peace coming into my life. Gods rule over me looks like salvation, redemption, mercy, grace. Gods kingdom is treasure Jesus is saying that Gods rule, specifically in the context of the gospel, is treasure. It is of supreme value. His reign is present in part right now, but will be complete at the second coming of Christ. The blessings we have now in Christ are great (forgiveness, righteousness, acceptance with the Father, no condemnation, the fellowship of Jesus by his Spirit in our lives, progressive transfo

Thanks to Andy Stanley for his teaching on guarding your heart. Today's is the most devastating. Greed, jealousy, guilt - we've talked about. They disturb relationships. Why do we carry anger? b/c we've been hurt. Someone has taken something from us. We can get rid of it. Not simple, not quick. Ephesians 4:25-27 Paul knew what it meant to be hurt, mistreated. He says that we can get rid of anger. It's not a matter of circumstances, but of the heart. Be angry - yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. Carry your anger for a short time. Don't carry it. There are some issues you cannot resolve in a day. Do not give the devil an opportunity. When you carry anger, you open a door to the devil, an opening to your heart. You know people who carry anger wreak havoc everywhere they go. It can affect people who had nothing to do with your anger. Jealousy says, "God owes me" Guilt says, "I owe you" Greed says, "I owe me" Anger says, "you owe me" A sense that your ex owes you b/c they stole your

"I'm not greedy, I could be more generous though". No one thinks they're greedy. They say they're "careful", "take care" of their stuff. We think of Scrooge - I'm not like that. There are different kinds of greed. It affects your money and your relationships It's almost impossible to see. Greed is a heart issue - Gods word helps us rid of it Luke 12:15 "be on guard for all kinds of greed" There are All kinds of greed. "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Hoarding, adding, shopping for more stuff. This greed is life= more, newer stuff, collecting, purchasing. Then when asked to give, we have no money. We spend hours, days, months figuring out how to upgrade, but then when we want to give we can't b/c we don't have the cash. That's never stopped you from spending, just giving. That is living as though upgrading, and acquisition=life. This is the theme of our society. It's greed. Greed says, "You owe me" It can impact your relationships You will hurt people's feelings to get a

Thanks to Andy Stanley for a lot of the content for this series is from his teaching from years ago. Your heart drives your whole life. Proverbs 4:23 We lead, parent, handle money, live married from our hearts We know how to filter our words and behavior, but need to learn how to guard - and monitor - our hearts. Jesus said your mouth speaks what's in your heart. We create a filter, bur blow through that filter and find out there's something wrong in our hearts. All of us deal with envy or jealousy at some level. There are people you don't like because their ahead of you. The closer you are to them, the worse you feel about you. "If I had that much money, I wouldn't have spent it like that." We're critical of them. We may not even be aware of our own jealousy. But the people around you are. Because your mouth has been speaking what is in your heart. Are there people that you have a hard time saying anything good about? Are there people that when you are talking about them with someone else, you always say

In His Image - by Clint Chambers, Youth Minister

Jesus said everything you do comes from your heart. We live from our heart. We learned what to say and do. We learned to filter our hearts, but the Bible tells us to guard our hearts, to watch over it, watch what goes into it and comes out of it. Not to filter our hearts, but to deal with them. We recoil at bringing those things out into the light. One way to understand some sin is as a debt/debtor relationship. Debt hangs over the relationship If we don't deal with them. Psalm 38:1-4 Guilt - is an overwhelming sense that I've done wrong. Guilt will negatively impact your relationships. Guilt is not what God desires for His people. "It is your kindness, o God, that leads us to repentance." Guilt is a monster, not a tool. Apart from the cross, guilt is normal. Because of the gospels power, you can be completely free of all guilt. Don't buy the lie that cultivating guilt and wallowing in your shame is somehow pleasing to God or promote holiness or spiritual maturity. God is glorified when we believe

Colossians 1:13, 14 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. We are taught at an early age behavior modification We are taught to filter our words and behaviors Matt 15:10-20 Jesus said the mouth speaks from the heart What lurks there in your heart will at some point come out You'll want to say that's not like me. But it is, it's from your heart Int he context of marriage, we have a hard time maintaining our filter Something will come out in our words and behavior that we've been careful to keep from coming out. In relationships, if you spend enough time around someone, your filter will break down, you'll do or say something that will shock you and the people around you. You have a heart problem. Slander, jealousy - I don't feel good about me, when I'm around you, I really feel it. So I say something about you, to tear you down a notch so I feel better about me. Women tend to do this abo

Marriage and the Glory of God

Genesis 1:26-27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Femininity - reflects the heart of God Compassion, beauty, nurturing, love, care Masculinity - reflects the strength of God Strength, leadership, courage Men and women are equal in their importance - both reflect God's character. Neither adequately represents God, but together, they are an image of God - not perfect because of sin - but an image of God nonetheless. In all creation, marriage is the fullest expression of God's image. 1. Harmony and unity in the relationship 2. Equality and importance of persons 3. Difference in role and authority Your marriage reflects the image of God. In God, there are distinct persons, but united in being, in purpose, and in nature. Each is eternal, each is holy, each is righteous. Genesis 2:18-24 Likewise in marriage there are two distinct persons; united physically, spiritually, and emotionally. When your marriage is united in purpose and direc

Back to the garden When it comes to practically every question about God’s intentions for men and women, the answer is almost always the same: go back to the garden. Jesus was asked about marriage (Matt. 19:4–6), He answered from Genesis 2. Paul was discussing the role of women in relation to men (1 Tim. 2:11–14), he found his answers in Genesis 2. The New Testament sees issues of gender and male-female relationships answered in the opening chapters of the Bible: the basic teaching on creation in Genesis 1 and the record of God’s specific dealing with the first man and woman in Genesis 2. It is here that we should search for the Bible’s most basic teaching on masculinity and femininity. Protect and Serve In his book, the "Masculine Mandate," Richard Phillips points to Genesis 2:15 where we read, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” He points to this passage as God's calling on men. He refers to this as the masculine mandate. The Hebrew word translated, “

by Trey Andrews

God refers to Himself over and over again as the Holy One of Israel, The God of Jacob, The Lord your God. He identifies Himself in intimate relationship with Israel. Even though they forgot him, even though they fell deep into sin and chose idols over Him. God will not abandon us. He will not forsake us. He will not forget us. Isaiah 49:15-16 Isaiah was written 700 years before Jesus' birth. He was given greater revelation from God about the suffering and death of Jesus than any other prophet. The description of Jesus' suffering is shockingly detailed as God'sSuffering Servant. It is also shocking to hear that God's plan was to use His Servant's suffering to take away our sin. This is what sacrifices were for: lambs, rams, dove, not people. Isaiah 53:1-3 He was despised and rejected Isaiah 53:4-6 He took our sins upon Himself Jesus bore our sin and brokenness and brought us peace and healing by his suffering. Isaiah 53:7-9 He suffered and was killed unjustly Isaiah 53:10-12 This is God's plan to save

Two weeks ago we went through Isaiah’s vision. He saw God, seated on His throne, exalted and in all his majesty. But Isaiah was so struck by God’s fearsome holiness, that he was undone before him. Instead of striking Isaiah, or casting him out of His presence, God took away his sin and called Isaiah into His work. Last week we talked about how, even in the midst of chaos, God is the majestic sovereign. He provides strength for His people. Because He gives us strength, even in the midst of trouble, we can rejoice. You’ve been through the tough part of Isaiah – all of God’s judgment on the nations – and the whole earth. Chapters 1-35: Isaiah prophesied about the rise of Assyria and how God would use Assyria to punish the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Chapters 36-39: Isaiah recorded Assyria’s fall and warned about the future rise of Babylon, who would come take Judah captive. Chapters 40-66: Isaiah prophesies about the end of the Babylonian captivity of Judah. Isaiah 40:1-2 – From punishment to comfort. v. 1 – “c

Isaiah chapters 24-27 are referred to as "Isaiah's Apocalypse" He refers to a time when God will bring judgment upon the whole world because of sin. The response of God's fearsome holiness to the sin of the world is devastating. All those who are not His will bear their own guilt for their sin - and the result is frightening. Yet, In the midst of judgment, there are scenes where people are praising God. Because of His majesty and because God is bringing His purposes to fruition, the threats of judgment are seen in the perspective of thanksgiving. Because of God's majesty, we have reason to rejoice - always. Don't miss it. Isaiah 26:1-6 God is Defender of His people V. 1 "in that day" refers to a coming time when God will intervene dramatically amongst mankind. In this case, the Isaiah has apparently had a view of "millennial reign" of Christ, when He will rule over the earth. God's protection of His people is seen by Isaiah as a fortified city. The people are protected within its walls. The walls and ram

King Uzziah began his reign when he was 16 years old. He reigned in Judah for 52 years. He was a good king. 2 Chronicles 26 says, “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” Zechariah instructed Uzziah in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success. He built a powerful army, he rebuilt cities, he fortified the walls of Jerusalem with towers and devices to shoot arrows and hurl large stones from the walls. But his success became his destruction. Uzziah became proud. He forgot that his success was from God. 2 Chronicles 26:16-21 - just read this, no slides needed. Isaiah 6:1 After 52 years, the great king of Judah died in about 740 BC under tragic circumstances. There would have been discouragement and disillusionment in Judah because their great king died tragically, in humiliation. Where was God in the midst of tragedy and confusion? He was seated on his throne, ruling and reigning in authority and power. Almost everyone in the Bible who had a vision of heaven spoke about