Lord, Show Me How to Live

Lord, Show Me How to Live Through the Holidays!

Sermons from Harvest Church-- Pensacola 1

NOTE: These Devotions are entirely from notes of sermons delivered at Harvest Church in Pensacola.

These sermons covered topics that are especially applicable at Thanksgiving and Christmas. May you be blessed as you study these Scriptures!

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Contents Thanksgiving.................................................................................................................................................. 4 Attitude of Gratitude ................................................................................................................................ 5 Christmas ...................................................................................................................................................... 9 Simply Christmas: Trees ......................................................................................................................... 10 Simply Christmas: Lights ........................................................................................................................ 13 Simply Christmas: Stars .......................................................................................................................... 16

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Thanksgiving

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2010 October 24 sermon

Sermon series: It’s All in Your Mind

Attitude of Gratitude 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 104: 1-3, 31-35 Praise the LORD, I tell myself; O LORD my God, how great you are! You are robed with honor and with majesty; you are dressed in a robe of light.

You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens; you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds. You make the clouds your

Philippians 4:6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

chariots; you ride upon the wings of the wind. …

May the glory of the LORD last forever! The LORD rejoices in all he has made!

The earth trembles at his glance; the mountains burst into flame at his touch. I will sing to the LORD as long as I

live. I will praise my God to my last breath! May he be pleased by all these thoughts about him, for I rejoice in the LORD. Let all sinners vanish from the face of the earth; let the wicked disappear forever. As for me -- I will praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

Big Idea: Valuing gratitude may or may not affect your life in large ways. However, living in such a way that you cultivate the virtue of gratitude will lead to enormous transformation in the way that you see and do everything!

“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant; to enact gratitude is generous and noble; but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.” --Author: Johannes Gaetner

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A lot of times we are thankful, but also discontented. It is possible – and common – to be both at the same time.

Two Common Contentment Thieves:

1. Comparing Matthew 20:1-16 – "For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of an estate who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work. "At nine o'clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. At noon and again around three o'clock he did the same thing. At five o'clock that evening he was in town again and saw some more people

standing around. He asked them, 'Why haven't you been working today?' "They replied, 'Because no one hired us.'"The owner of the estate told them, 'Then go on out and join the others in my vineyard.' "That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. When those hired at five o'clock were paid, each received a full day's wage.

When those hired earlier came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day's wage. When they received their

pay, they protested, 'Those people worked only one hour, and yet you've paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.' "He answered one of them, 'Friend, I haven't been unfair! Didn't you agree to work all day for the usual wage? Take it and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money?

Should you be angry because I am kind?' "And so it is, that many who are first now will be last then; and those who are last now will be first then."

2. Coveting …unquenchable desire for more…

“Coveting wants not only what one does not have, but what one cannot have. In brief, coveting wants more.” -- Bob Deffinbaugh “An ungrateful person is only one step away from getting their needs met in illegitimate ways.” – Dr. D. James Kennedy Deuteronomy 7:25 – Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the Lord your God.

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4 Areas in Which Satan Likes to Steal Our Contentment

1. Material and Financial Discontentment ■Luke 12:15 Then he said, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions."

■1 Timothy 6:6-10 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

■Ecclesiastes 5:10 Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.

2. Relational Discontentment ■Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend.

Relationships can be tricky – but we need each other. Celebrate your relationship with other people!

Celebrate your relationship with God!

3. Circumstantial Discontentment Philippians 4:11-13 Paul: …I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

God has given me everything that I need in order to do what He wants me to do – and at this very moment, I lack nothing to accomplish His perfect will!

4. Spiritual Discontentment It is good to want more of God – but it is bad to think that God isn’t doing enough for you!

We must choose contentment.

We must choose gratitude!

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Gratitude 1.

A grateful person is humble, while ingratitude reveals pride.

2. A grateful person is a loving person who seeks to gratify and bless others, while an ungrateful person is bent on gratifying himself.

3. A grateful heart is a full heart, while an unthankful heart is an empty one.

4. A grateful person is easily contented, while an ungrateful person is subject to bitterness and discontent.

5. A grateful heart will be revealed and expressed by thankful words, while an ungrateful heart will manifest itself in murmuring and complaining.

Gratitude will affect your speech! Thankfulness is a huge element in cleaning up your speech. â–şPractice speaking thankful words! â–şDaily practice being thankful!

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Christmas

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2010 December 5 sermon

Sermon series: “Simply Christmas”

Simply Christmas: Trees

History of The Christmas Tree: ■The tradition began in the early 700’s in Geismar, Germany.

■St. Boniface (672 – 754), a priest, cut down the “tree of Thor” in order to defy the pagan Norse god to which the tree was dedicated.

■Boniface saw a fir tree, representing life, growing nearby. Taking this as a sign of the Christian faith, he said, “Let CHRIST be at the center of your households!” Thus he used the fir tree as a symbol of life in Christ rather than death in false gods.

■From that point, it became known as the “Christ Tree.”

Important Trees in the Bible: ■ THE TREE OF LIFE and THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL Genesis 3:1-19, 22: Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the LORD God had made. "Really?" he asked the woman. "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?" "Of course we may eat it," the woman told him. "It's only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die." "You won't die!" the serpent hissed. "God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil." The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit. She also gave some to her

husband, who was with her. Then he ate it, too.

At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves. Toward evening they heard the LORD God walking about in the garden, so they hid themselves among the trees. The LORD God called to Adam, "Where are you?" He replied, "I heard you, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked." "Who told you that you were naked?" the LORD God asked. "Have you eaten the fruit I commanded you not to eat?"

"Yes," Adam admitted, "but it was the woman you gave me who brought me the fruit, and I ate it." Then the LORD God asked the woman, "How 10

could you do such a thing?""The serpent tricked me," she replied. "That's why I ate it." So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you will be punished. You are singled out from all the domestic and wild animals of the whole earth to be cursed. You will grovel in the dust as long as you live, crawling along on your belly. From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." Then he said to the woman, "You will bear children with intense pain and suffering.

And though your desire will be for your husband, he will be your master." And to Adam he said,

"Because you listened to your wife and ate the fruit I told you not to eat, I have placed a curse on the ground. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains.

All your life you will sweat to produce food, until your dying day. Then you will return to the ground from which you came. For you were made from dust, and to the dust you will return." …Then the LORD God said, "The people have become as we are, knowing everything, both good and evil. What if they eat the fruit of the tree of life? Then they will live forever!"

Adam and Eve sinned; they brought a curse (death).

The central lie is the lie that God isn’t good. The serpent used this lie to trick Eve, telling her that God was withholding good from her. However, Genesis 1 establishes that God is good! The first work that the enemy does is to cast doubt and cause you to reason.

■THE FIG TREE Matthew 21:18, 19: In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there

were any figs on it, but there were only leaves.

Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" And immediately the fig tree withered up.

■THE CROSS Galatians 3:13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

1 Peter 2:24 He personally carried away our sins in his own body on the cross so we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. You have been healed by his wounds!

Christ took our curse (death) and opened the way for righteousness and healing.

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RESPONSE: Whenever we see trees in the Bible, the subject deals with response to God! God is always looking for a response: Obedience! Usually this obedience revolves one issue.

The tree is cursed (dies) -- because of unresponsiveness.

The curse is on lack of response (to the Son of God). The new order is response in the form of worship.

Worshippers are those who are responding to God. The curse is the consequence of lack of response.

Respond to God with thanksgiving and worship!

9 Great Exchanges that Took Place at the Cross: 1.

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Jesus was cursed so that I could be blessed.

Jesus was punished so that I could be forgiven.

Jesus was wounded so that I could be healed.

Jesus was made sin so that I could be made righteous.

Jesus became poor so that I could become rich.

Jesus took my shame so I could share in His glory.

Jesus was rejected so I could be accepted.

Jesus was estranged from the Father so I could be reconciled to Him. Jesus died so I can live!

►To respond to this, thank God for each of the above points!

Revelation 22:1-3 And the angel showed me a pure river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, coursing down the center of the main street. On

each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. No longer will

anything be cursed. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him.

I John 5:11, 12 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. So whoever has God's Son has life; whoever does not have his Son does not have life.

No more curse (death) on anything or anyone – LIFE is forever enjoyed by those who serve and worship Christ! There will no longer be a curse …and His servants will worship Him forever. ►Whenever you see a tree now, let it remind you to respond to God with obedience, thanksgiving, and worship!

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2010 December 12 sermon

Sermon series: “Simply Christmas”

Simply Christmas: Lights

History of Christmas Lights: ■Early Christians were persecuted for having worship meetings. A candle would be placed in the window to identify where the worship gathering was to occur that week for the Christians in the community.

■The tradition of using small candles to light up the Christmas tree dates back to Queen Victoria’s reign (mid-1800’s). Through immigration this tradition spread to North America and Australia.

■In her journal for Christmas Eve of 1832, the delighted 13-year-old princess wrote, “After dinner…we all went into the drawing room, near the dining room. There were two large round tables on which were placed two trees, hung with lights and sugar ornaments. All the presents were placed around the trees.”

■Miniature candles were (and in some cultures still are) used until the development of the inexpensive electrical light in the mid-19th century.

(RECAP: “Trees” = RESPONSE) “Light” = SEPARATION: “to disconnect,” “to sever,” “to set apart” LIGHT MUST BE SEPARATED FROM DARKNESS ►Genesis 1:1-4 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in

darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over its surface.

Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And

God saw that it was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness.

God separated the light from darkness. In this passage we see that darkness is associated with formlessness, emptiness, and dysfunction.

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►John 1:1-9; 3:16-21 In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. He was in the beginning with God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make. Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. God sent John the Baptist to tell everyone about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was only a witness to the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was going to come into the world.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. "There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants."

The light shines in the darkness.

The first evidence of becoming a Christian is that you become separated from darkness. God does the same work in you that He did for the earth in Genesis 1 – He separates the light from the darkness in you!

►Matthew 5:14-16 You are the light of the world -- like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

You are the light of the world!

►2 Corinthians 6:14-17 Don't team up with those who are unbelievers.

How can goodness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?

What harmony can there be between Christ and the Devil ? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God's temple and idols? For we are the

temple of the living God. As God said: "I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from them and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don't touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.

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Do not have harmony with unbelievers, going the same way as them.

God wants to give you a stand, an area of influence. He wants to make you a light!

►Ephesians 5:8-13 For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil

and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them.

It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But when the light shines on them, it becomes clear how evil these things are.

Live as people of light.

True Christians should be defined by what they are for, not by what they are against.

Separate yourself from unbelievers by not acting like them. For example, don’t laugh at dirty jopkes, don’t steal, don’t lie, etc. You are now light; act like it!

►Revelation 22:1-5 And the angel showed me a pure river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, coursing down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. No longer will anything be cursed. For

the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there -- no need for lamps or sun -- for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.

God is the light in heaven …There is no darkness in heaven!

Every time that you see Christmas lights, remind yourself that you are now the light of your world; you are now separated from darkness!

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2010 December 19 sermon

Sermon series: “Simply Christmas”

Simply Christmas: Stars Matthew 2:1-12 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews?

We have seen his star as it arose, and we have come to worship him." Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law.

"Where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?" he asked them. "In Bethlehem," they said, "for this

is what the prophet wrote: 'O Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village in Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.' " Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star. Then he told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!" After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star

appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him.

Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Stars are an important part of our Christmas celebration. The wise men followed the star to Jesus. It “appeared to them,” “guided them,” and “went ahead of them.” It led them to the object of their worship: Jesus!

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THREE QUESTIONS I MUST ASK MYSELF THIS CHRISTMAS 1.

WHAT AM I SEEKING?

Hebrews 11:6b – “Anyone who comes to *God+ must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Earnest = Ekzeka = To investigate; to crave; to demand The wise men saw the same thing that everyone saw. They recognized the significance of what they saw because they investigated.

2. WHAT AM I FOLLOWING? Proverbs 14:12 – “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death.”

We can use Scripture to justify anything that we want to do.

John 16:13 -- When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.

God lives inside you! You need to take this into account in your daily life. The Holy Spirit inside you leads you the right way …Follow Him! Life is a progression. Follow the path that God has set for you – one step at the time. If you’ve gotten off the right road, then God always has an On-Ramp for you to get back on the right road!

3. WHAT AM I OFFERING? a. Gold = Earth, symbolizing the Son of Man i. Gold symbolizes that God became human, made of earth. ii. Hebrews 2:17, 18 – Therefore, it was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. He then could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted. iii. If Jesus could not have sinned, then His sacrifice would have been worthless.

Jesus had to become human! b. Frankincense = Prayer i. Jesus lived a life of prayer! ii. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “Pray continually.” This verse tells us to live a life of communicating with God! iii. John 12:50 – “Whatever I say is just what the Father has told Me to say.” c. Myrrh – Death i. John 12:24 – “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” Jesus knew that His life would be given as a seed.

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ii. Myrrh was an embalming element. It spoke of Jesus’ death. iii. We die to self by focusing on other people and choosing to bless them. We die to self by making time for others.

The star on top of the tree represents Journey. It represents the steps that we take as we follow God’s plan for our lives.

The overall question that I must ask myself this Christmas season: IS THE PATH I’M ON LEADING ME TO A LIFE OF WORSHIP?

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