LIFE IS ABOUT GOD, NOT YOU

How does the new covenant relate to this in the old covenant? Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, Jesus said He came "not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it."  In Jewish culture, they had ceremonial laws, moral laws and civil laws.  Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial laws.  He was the perfect sacrifice for sins and therefore fulfilled the ceremonial laws of the Jews.  The civil laws were for public order and we still abide by many of those in our culture today.  However, the moral laws have never changed.  So moral laws found within the 10 Commandments are still to be adhered to in today's culture.  God doesn't change His moral code based on the latest trends of society.  Jesus taught the same moral laws in the New Testament that we see in the Old.  In fact, He often expounded upon them, as in the case of divorce, lust and revenge.

Is it sinful to worry about what God will do if you turn over EVERY aspect of your life to Him?  In Psalm 139:13 it says, "For you created my inmost being.  You knit me together in my mother's womb."  Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you' declares the Lord.  'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  When you read passages like this, how could we ever be worried about giving every aspect of our lives to God?  I understand the question, but I want to encourage you that God always has your best interest at heart.  He provides us with a way to live in order to outline the best life possible.  Like I said Sunday, most of the troubles we experience in life are a result of living life our way, not God's way.  I would encourage you to turn over ever aspect of your life and see what God does.

Can you give some examples of breaking the first two commandments in today's life?  An example in breaking the first commandment would be believing we are all headed up the same mountain and what god we choose to follow to get there, doesn't really matter.  An example of breaking commandment number two would be getting overly attached to one particular Christian symbol in your worship.  Some might also say placing things such as entertainment life, sports, our work, money, hobbies, music, etc. before God would be examples of modern day idols.  Or like I said in the sermon, if we are guilty of worshiping the God we've created in our minds as opposed to the God who really is.

Could you put the prayer you put on the screen online so we could see it again?  I found this prayer in a book by Bill Hybels entitled, "Laws that Liberate."  Here is the prayer... "Lord, show me your will and I'll gladly do it.  If I can serve you best in the business world, then that's where I'll go.  If you want me in school, I'll go there.  If you want me to stay home, I'll stay home.  If you want me in ministry, I'll go there.  Give me a mission and I'll pursue it with passion for the rest of my life."

How many commandments are against man's laws?  Fortunately in our country, there aren't too many man made laws I can think of that go against God's laws.  I'm sure there may be some.  Our legal system and laws we have in this country were founded on Biblical principles.  I had a Jewish professor in Political Science who knew the New Testament of the Bible better than most Christians I have met.  When I asked him why, he said, "Because I'm a Political Science professor and most of our laws were based on New Testament teachings."  However, I think we are rapidly moving in a direction where that may cease to be the case.  We are teetering on a slippery slope.  Stay tuned and pray. Let's pray we move closer to God rather than further away.


How do you tell the difference between loving your spouse and putting them before God?  God tells us in Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her."  and in Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord."  Loving and caring for our spouses is at the core of who God is.  He has called us to prioritize our marriages and view them with honor before Him.  I think the only way you would put your spouse before God would be to deny God's laws in order to satisfy your spouses request.  In other words, if you spouse is trying to get you to do something that is contrary to Scripture, then you would need to prioritize God's Word over your spouse.  But in any other case, I believe you are honoring God and putting Him first by giving total devotion to your spouse.

Many questions were about God's will for your life.  I answered this live, but if you missed it, I'll answer it again.  When discovering God's will for our life, we need to make sure it jives with Scripture.  God is not going to ask you to do something that is contrary to His Word.  If you don't know the Bible well enough to know, ask someone trusted who does.  Also, even though God used Moses in ways that were way beyond his abilities, there has only been one Moses.  Sometimes we think we can all be a Moses and God will gift us to be like him.  More often than not, God will use you in the way in which He has wired you.  Discover your spiritual gifts, talents and passions and serve God within those.  Ask Christian people who know you well if what you are hearing from God sounds legitimate to them.  They know you well and will be able to say, "Yes, that sounds like you." or "No, you are way off base."  Discovering God's will for your life can be frustrating, but it's all part of the growing experience.  Throughout the experience, don't ever forget, God has nothing to gain by keeping it a secret from you.  He wants you to know His mission for your life.  So pursue it with excitement and don't give up!  But don't spend your life searching.  Get out there and try some things and see where God leads.  Don't waste your life away wondering.

Do you believe salvation occurs at water baptism?  Do you believe people can lose their salvation? These questions come up almost every time you open it up for questions.  In short, no, I do not believe salvation occurs at water baptism.  I don't have space here to give all the Biblical evidence, and my assumption is, since you asking this question, you are fairly well versed in the Bible,  but I will say this.  If baptism were necessary for salvation, then it would be mentioned every time salvation is mentioned.  However, there are plenty of passages that talk about faith alone in Christ and nothing about baptism.  On the flip side, you never see a passage that says being baptized alone is what saves someone.  So faith in Christ is the only constant for salvation in the Bible. To the other question, yes, I do believe someone can lose their salvation.  Hebrews 6:6 refers to a believer falling away.  This topic is hotly debated in Armenian and Calvinist circles all the time.  My feeling is this...if a person is standing there and does not have faith in Christ and at one time appeared to have faith in Christ, one thing is for sure.  Whether they lost their salvation or never had it, they are still far from God and need Christ.  So in my opinion, we get too concerned with this question.  Our real concern should be for the person and their state with Christ, not with how they got there.

AM I MAKING PEOPLE SWIM TO ME?

How do I share Christ with non-believers without being too pushy or shoving Christ down their throats?  1 Peter 3:15 and 16 says, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."  Notice the passage says to share Christ with others with "gentleness and respect."  When dealing with non-believers, I would simply stay as respectful and gentle as possible.  Remember, you are their earthly representation of who Jesus is.  They may judge Him based on how you treat them.  So be bold yet careful. As long as the dialogue is open, you are not being pushy.  If they get to the point where they tell you to back off and leave them alone, then accommodate their request.  You gain nothing by being pushy.  Believe me, when the chips are down in their life or they have questions about God, they will come to you because they know where you stand.

If 75% of those reached by the Gospel fall away, have they lost their salvation?  As I studied for this sermon, that was a question I asked myself.  Jesus doesn't make it real clear, but it appears that the person described by the path maybe never had salvation.  The person in the rocks, appears to have had it, but left it.  The person I had the most struggle with was the person in the thorns.  This person was described as being "unfruitful," not as having rejected Christ.  That's why in the sermon, I referenced this person as one who is a follower of Christ in name only.  Obviously, this person has put other things before Christ.  And while that is a danger zone, I'm not sure if Jesus would say they've lost their salvation.  Jesus is pretty strong on what it means to call Him Lord.  For example, Matthew 7:21 that "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." That's pretty strong language.  So whether a person loses their salvation or not in that 75% may be up for debate.  However, I think it is clear that we should all be pursuing the "good soil" way of life.

What should you do if you are trying to reach someone for Christ and they stop listening?  I think this question may have been answered in the first question I answered.  However, I would add praying for the person.  Never underestimate the power of prayer.  Pray hard for those you are trying to reach that God would soften their heart toward Him.

When you ask God into your life, how do you know you asked the right way?  How do you know that He has accepted you?  Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."  If you have done this and believe it in your heart, then you have done it "the right way."  John 3:16 answers you other question.  John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."  God loves everyone in the world and if they accept His Son, He accepts them as part of His family.  Romans 8:14-16 says, "Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.  And by Him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."  "Abba" can be translated, "Daddy."  As this passage in Romans says, if we are led by the Spirit of God and are truly committed to Him, He is our father and we are His children.  It's a wonderful concept and way of life!

What if your faced with rejection of Christ's name every time you try and spread the love of Jesus?  How do I respond to this kind of rejection?  Matthew 5:11 and 12 says, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."  Any time we are persecuted or insulted because of Jesus, God blesses us.  That does not mean we just harshly talk to people about God and invite insult (see question above related to this).  In this world, we are going to experience rejection.  Don't ever let that deter you from trying to be a light for Christ.  Jesus said in Mark 8:38, "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of Him when He comes in His Father's glory with the holy angels."  Keep being a light for Christ!

What concrete evidence do we have to explain the age of dinosaurs and their existence?  Why does science go against this?  I'm not an expert on this by any means, but I'll give you some food for thought.  Some scholars believe the leviathan mentioned in Job 41 is a dinosaur-type creature that lived in the sea.  Whether it was a dinosaur or a great whale, we may not be sure, but it's perhaps evidence of dinosaurs in the Bible.  Job is believed to have lived during the time of Abraham or before.  There is no mention of the Law or the Exodus in Job, so scholars believe he lived in what we might call "the prehistoric days."  As far as the age of the earth as it appears in the Bible, versus what secular scientists say, I don't know that it really matters.  I asked a college science professor who was a Christian at a secular university how he looked at it and he said, "It could be said that scientists have missed it and have dated the earth much older than it is, or it could be said that God created the world over a vast number of years and the days mentioned in Genesis are figurative rather than literal, but either way, does your faith hinge upon a concrete answer?"  I thought that was a good way to look at it.  It's an endless debate with people who simply like to debate.  If you enjoy this type of study and research, there is a wonderful magazine I used to get entitled, "Answers."  They have great articles regarding the origin of the earth, dinosaurs, archeology, etc.  Check our their website at www.answersingenesis.org.

SHARING CHRIST AT WORK

Do I stop talking to coworkers about Jesus (they come to me) if my employer says to? Do I not listen to God over what man says?
Colossians 3:22 says, "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord." Based on the position of Christian slaves in Bible times, we could easily replace the word "slaves" with the word "employees."  Therefore, when we read about "slaves obeying their masters," we can most certainly replace those words with "employees, obey your bosses."  In the case of your boss not wanting you to talk about your faith at work, I think you should obey his wishes.  If you have coworkers approaching you, simply exchange cell numbers and say, "My boss doesn't want me to talk about my faith at work, but I would love to talk with you after hours."  I don't believe this fits the category of "obeying man and not God."  If your employer was trying to get you to do something that violated God's laws, then you might have an issue.  But in the case of sharing your faith, you can find other ways to communicate with a coworker rather than at the workplace.  I appreciate your heart to reach people.  If people are coming to you, you obviously are living the life and being salt and light for Christ.  Great job!