Carrying Your Cross - W1 - Look Who's Coming to Dinner

This is the life we have seen and heard. ---1 John 1:3a

-------------------------

1. When it comes to your life, what have you seen and heard in the area of a relationship with God? - (Read Matthew 9:9)

When Jesus was leaving that place, he saw a man sitting in a tax office. The man's name was Matthew. Jesus said to him, "Follow me!" So Matthew got up and followed him.

Þ Any ideas about why Jesus initiated this interaction with this tax collector?

Þ Does this mean that God is still interested in people?

2. The religious seemed to think that Jesus was being a bit peculiar by hanging out with Matthew - (Read Matthew 9:11)

The Pharisees [religious authorities] saw this and asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" -- Italics added

Þ If they were the learned men of God’s Word, why were they confused?

Þ How do you think the disciples (fellow sinners) felt when asked this?

3. Jesus responded to the question - (Read Matthew 9:12-13)

When Jesus heard that, he said, "Healthy people don't need a doctor; those who are sick do. (13) Learn what this means: 'I want mercy, not sacrifices.' I've come to call sinners, not people who think they have God's approval."

Þ Let’s define the following: 1) sinner’s 2) think 3) God’s approval

Þ Why do you think Jesus saved His harshest words for the religious?

4. Seek the Scriptures – (Read John 17:20-21)

"I'm not praying only for them. I'm also praying for those who will believe in me through their message. (21) I pray that all of these people continue to have unity in the way that you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they may be united with us so that the world will believe that you have sent me.

What helpful truths about fellowship can you find (above) concerning…

1. You and God?

2. You and your faith community?

3. You and the lost humanity in which you live?

Take each and every opportunity to live out loud the fact that God is interested in all of us, no matter our failures. Please take this next week and confront sin in your life with truth and love, showing the world that there is hope. Jesus took the disciples to dinner, He loves being around those that follow Him. Spend time with God and take that time and allow it to impact others. Remember, it is up to each of us to allow our relationship with God to bless our relationships with the others in our life.

AM I MY BROTHERS KEEPER?

"None of us liveth to himself" (Rom. 14:7).

"Ye shall be My witnesses." How many of us are willing to spend every ounce of nervous energy, of mental, moral and spiritual energy we have for Jesus Christ? That is the meaning of a witness in God's sense of the word. It takes time, be patient with yourself. God has left us on the earth - what for? to be saved and sanctified? No, to be at it for Him. Am I willing to be broken bread and poured out wine for Him? To be spoilt for this age, for this life, to be spoilt from every standpoint but one -saving as I can disciple men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ. My life as a worker is the way I say "thank you" to God for His unspeakable salvation. Remember it is quite possible for any one of us to be flung out as reprobate silver - "... lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

—My Utmost For His Highest

Faulty wiring?

I have often sat in conversations that only fueled my curiosity about God and His Creation. When I speak of the term "Creation", I am not just referring to the air, land, and sea. When I look at the differing personalities from one person to the next, I find myself often amazed. At the end of an average week, I can look back at my personal journey and witness my own attitudes and emotions as a roller coaster at times.

We are nearing a world population of 7 billion people. Each of these people is all "wired" differently by a Creator that never changes -- interesting. We can all share some stories of moments-past when we either encountered an extreme personality or perhaps we were the one being encountered.

When it comes to God as Father, as Lord and Savior, where on the chain does our personality rest?

In my relationship to the Creator, I was no more than a creature for over 25 years. However, when I took my debt of sin and acknowledged the fact that I was unable to bring to ledger "back into the black", out of eternal desperation, I chose to reach for help. I heard great news, Jesus who owed no debt, chose to pay for the debt of humanity (creation). By His shed blood He washed away my sin, and as a recipient of His righteousness, I was able to come near to God as Father. I once heard a pastor preaching a funeral message, in a foolish attempt to comfort the bereaving family, telling an open crowd that we are all members of the "brotherhood of creation" under God.

God takes all personalities into consideration, He above all others understands us best, and He does rightfully own boasting rights as Creator. He looks at all of us with the same compassion no matter our differences whether they are cultural, ethnic, religious, political, etc. As the Just and Justifier, God had to punish sin, while at the same time wanted to see all of His creation return to Him. There is no brotherhood of creation, there is just creation. The difference between Chad the former creature and Chad the present child of God all rests in the works of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross of Calvary.

Romans 5:15-19 [God's Word Translation]

There is no comparison between God's gift and Adam's failure. If humanity died as the result of one person's failure, it is certainly true that God's kindness and the gift given through the kindness of one person, Jesus Christ, have been showered on humanity. (16) There is also no comparison between God's gift and the one who sinned. The verdict which followed one person's failure condemned everyone. But, even after many failures, the gift brought God's approval. (17) It is certain that death ruled because of one person's failure. It's even more certain that those who receive God's overflowing kindness and the gift of his approval will rule in life because of one person, Jesus Christ. (18) Therefore, everyone was condemned through one failure, and everyone received God's life-giving approval through one verdict. (19) Clearly, through one person's disobedience humanity became sinful, and through one person's obedience humanity will receive God's approval.