United In Christ · Growing In Grace · Reaching Out In Love

Sunday Morning Sermon Summary 

Pastor Paul Lundberg

Plea Bargains (a study in Jeremiah)

(Part Five)  “Top Down, Bottom Up, or Inside Out?” Jeremiah 23:5-6

Sunday, October 5, 2008

►#1  -  BLANK

►The more things change, the more they stay the same. Message of Jeremiah is relevant     

1) Left God 2) Taken up with other gods 3) Set up idols [SO HAVE WE]

► Last week: “Nothing will change until we change what we care about”

ME      Change myself (come, follow me), change my culture (Go, make disciples)

                        Easier said than done; Conceived in sin, controlled by consequences

                        (I Have Decided to Follow Jesus vs. I Like It, I Love It, I Want Some More Of It)

            Things don’t change much, maybe I don’t care enough; I changed what I cared about but nothing changed!

WE      Insecure, not sure of your salvation, don’t know if you’re doing anything or enough

            Top down (God demands it), bottom up (I try to do it) Inside out (Jesus becomes it)

► POINT:  What we can’t change, we can exchange (God will exchange)

GOD    ►Jeremiah 23:5, 6 "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.

►"Jehovah Tsidkenu — The Lord our Righteousness"

Romans 10:2-4 For I can testify about them (the Jews) that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.   Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

God’s Law (Standard of righteousness): 613 commandments, 3 reactions  .

            1) Sought other gods, RESULT: discipline, ultimately abandonment from God. (LAST WEEK)

            2) Some sincere: righteous, righteous before, relationship with God, PROBLEM: came to the knowledge of their sin; cried to God (Isaiah 6), Always the exception, "remnant

            3) Majority lowered their standard of God. Added 2000 plus additions. WORKS.

PROBLEM: A proud man who has the kind of self-consciousness so that he can stand before God, should be sure of his salvation, but never is.

        One of their most celebrated prophets, whom they called the "law of the world," was on his death-bed, and one of his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, what sayest thou now?" The Rabbi said, "Heaven and hell are before me, and I know not whither I am going. If I were to be summoned into the presence of an earthly king I might well be afraid, and yet his displeasure would only last a few years, and his punishment, however severe it may be, must come to an end; but I am now going into the presence of the Lord God Most High, whose wrath is everlasting, and His punishment is infinite, and I know not whether I shall be acquitted."

        The Apostle Paul before he was converted; went about establishing his own righteousness, and afterwards he said that he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees, according to the law blameless.

        What is the condition of Christians who do not know the Lord? Simply the same thing, for if they knew Jehovah-Tsidkenu then they would have the knowledge of salvation, they would put no confidence in the works of the law, they would simply rejoice in Christ Jesus.

        Among all the Eastern nations is a striving after being absorbed in God. there is in God the only true existence; that everything else apart from God is imperfect, and unsatisfactory. But they do not see that sin is sin, wrong, evil. They imagine that sin is necessary, something through which we have to pass, something for which we are not accountable; and thus they declare that there can be no difference between good and evil. Truth is: "I live, yet not I, but Christ"

►1 Corinthians 1:30  It is because of him (God) that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness (FREEDOM FROM GUILT), holiness (ABILITY TO CHANGE BEHAVIOR) and redemption (SALVATION, “TICKET” TO HEAVEN”).

►2 Corinthians 5:20-21 (ACTION) We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that IN HIM we might become the righteousness of God.

Christ a Prophet to instruct, a Priest to atone, but also a King to rule and save His people. (Unknown) – Glorify, live in community, follow Christ, ministry and mission

►YOU  2 Peter 1:3-4 (Jesus’) divine power has given us everything we need for life (SALVATION/JUSTIFICATION) and godliness (HOLY LIVES/SANCTIFICATION) through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature (SALVATION/JUSTIFICATION) and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires (HOLY LIVES/SANCTIFICATION).

THE WAY TO RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IS TO ALLOW HIM TO

        EXCHANGE OUR NATURE FOR JESUS’ NATURE

TRUE SALVATION INCLUDES JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION

        (GRACE ALONE, BY FAITH ALONE, IN CHRIST ALONE)

FORGIVENESS AND CLEANSING AND

RELEASE FROM POWER AND CONTROL OF (ORIGINAL) SIN

 FREEDOM FROM GUILT AND POWER TO LIVE LIKE JESUS

WE:    “Into my heart … come into my heart Lord Jesus… come in today…to stay

►    OUTLINE: “THIS WEEK” (What we can’t change, we can let God exchange)

Romans 10:4-10 (Message Bible) The earlier revelation (OT) was intended simply to get us ready for the Messiah, who then puts everything right for those who trust him to do it. Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it's not so easy. But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story. So what exactly was Moses saying? The word that saves is right here, as near as the tongue in your mouth, as close as the heart in your chest. It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God — "Jesus is my Master" — embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"

►#13 BLANK - COMMUNION

Legend:

Green: Mission and Vision
Blue: Illustrations and quotes
Red: Scripture

Note to the visitor:  These are Pastor Paul’s sermon notes from Sunday Morning.  They probably won’t make much sense if you weren’t in the service.  Feel free to contact Pastor Paul if you’d like more detailed information.
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