Experiencing God @ Lake

Here's a place to comment on how Lake and Warehouse guys can work together synergistically to better reach the Pasadena area for fellowship and faith to a generation of men who need to walk and grow in Christ

An event coming up in April 9 Wednesday at 6:45 in the morning!! Hey that's about as early as our monthly meetings!! A speaker on surviving Black Hawk Down
Please reply as a comment to post or by email rb2bb@sbcglobal.net if you're interested so we can reserve tables with each ticket costing $25 instead of $30.



http://www.thegatheringsocal.org

http://www.thegatheringsocal.org/events.html

Hope we can have interesting discussions and develop new ways to communicate God's Truth to men at Lake Avenue Church

Two levels of faith - this chapter focuses on examining faith as the "developing of belief" as a way of thinking, a virtue, a habit. The next chapter deals with what it means to give up your life to God.
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1) How is faith a virtue if it just means you've used your mind to accept a set of concepts of "faith" as "fact"?

Logically speaking, everyone should "believe" (accept, act upon, rely on) what they understand as true.

But that doesn't take into account for emotion, for imagination.
2) What do you think of his examples - a) waiting for operation, b) trusting the untrustworthy
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Testing of faith.

3) Do you think people "conveniently" forget their faith?

4) what do you think of CS Lewis' definition of faith as "art of holding onto what reason has accepted"?

5) how do we deal with moods? How do we avoid being a "creature dithering"?

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Training of faith

6) What are the habits of faith?

7) What can habits do for your spiritual life?

8) What can habits NOT DO for your spiritual life?

9) What can failure teach us? a) What wrong idea can it give us? b) what right idea is "discovered"?

What is HOPE?
And what is HOPE not?

HOPE is NOT -
Escapism
Wishful thinking
Fatalism about this world?
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Why would hope to reach the "next world" help us "hope" to change this one?
Do you think it's true that the motivation of Christians to social action comes from such HOPE?
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How do we want heaven?
Why do we want heaven?
Do we not recognize our heart's desire for something beyond this world?
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Earthly longings & Heavenly longings -

What do want from this world? What do we do and feel when we don't get it? What do we do and feel when we do get what we want?
Nothing ever satisfies - why is that?

1) The fool's way -
go for more, up the stakes, increase the thrill, find someone new.
What is real and what is the ideal we search for?

2) The way of the disillusioned and sensible! -
settle down and settle for less. Look down on the youthful and idealists. But what if there is more? Especially if there is a "beyond"?

Are you a thrill seeker? Or are you settling for less than life has to offer?

3) The Christian way.

The desire for more of life - we call hope - is that unquenchable desire for that indefinable "something" state of being - that can't be satisfied - because it is meant for fulfillment "beyond"

If desire is for something beyond our experience, are we meant for another world?

This is a small chapter on hope, but a recurring theme of Lewis' biographical writings and his fiction touches on understanding such "longings".

A lion King Aslan in his Narnia series was more than a way to entertain children with good stories, it was his creation of a fantasy world to express his longing in an imaginative way of Christ's redeeming power establishing His kingdom.

"May 29th, 1954 - Dear 5th graders
... I did not say to myself - let us represent Jesus as He really is in our world by a Lion in Narnia. I said - let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God as He became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen... The only way for us to get to Aslan's country is through death, as far as I know: perhaps some very good people get just a tiny glimpse before then"

May 6, 1955 - "Laurence can't really love Aslan more than Jesus ... for the things he loves Aslan for doing or saying are simply the things Jesus really did and said...Of course there is one thing Aslan has that Jesus has not - I mean, the body of a lion... God knows all about the way a little boy's imagination works (He made it after all) and knows... the idea of talking and friendly animals is very attractive... so I don't think He minds if Laurence likes the Lion body... as he grows older, that feeling.. will die away.
April 23, 1956 " Dear Laurence... I have ... married and my wife is very, very ill. I am sure Aslan knows best and whether He leaves her with me or takes her to His own country, He will do what is right...
December 23, 1957 "Dear Laurence ...Last year I married... a woman who seemed to be dying, so you can imagine it was a sad wedding. But Aslan has done great things for us."
__________________________________________(CS Lewis, Letters to Children)

Love for the undiscovered country of "beyond".
Things of this world are shadows, echoes of what's to come.
And things of heaven can't be known by things of earth.
The imagery including that of scripture (harps, gold) is attempt to express the inexpressible

How do we compare earthly blessings to what is beyond?
Do you think it is right that the Bible's vision of heaven is only symbolic of what is to come?

What is essential to experience optimum personal significance?

First, we need to understand that we were created, designed to serve God.

"Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless."-- Bertrand Russell, atheist.

God's workmanship - we are His works of art from His sovereign purpose and planning (Eph 2:10). See also Eph 1:4, "He chose us in Him before the creation of the world"

Second, we must realize that we have been gifted to serve.

Eph 4:8 - grace gift for each. We are gifted as God decides to give.
Eph 4:11 ( and 1 Cor 12, Romans 12, I Peter 4). Spiritual gift lists - maybe 20 listed.

1) gifts are different than God given ability
2) Everybody has a gift
3) Recommit to know and use the gifts you are given.

Third, we must embrace the fact that serving is the pathway to significance.

In God's service we have opportunity to a) Worship Him b) Building up of each other in the Church c) impacting the world thru outreach

How can I experience optimum personal significance?

The mix in you or I, in the Body, is unique, it is God given, - to counter that leads to frustration and mediocrity
(the tale of the "school for animals" where the duck must run, the squirrel must fly (starting from the ground!) and the rabbit swim)

Pride -

Is our attitude the root of all sins?

Do you think it is true that only Christians accuse themselves of pride?

If so, what would you say if I countered " but then, we're the only ones to take pride in humility"?!

Do you see pride in others?

Do you see it in yourself?

What does it do in the world?

What does it do in the Church?

How is Diabolical Pride different or mistaken for lesser faults?
Is it wrong to want to be praised?
Is it wrong to want to stand on one's own, not care what others think?
Is it wrong to be "proud of ....."?

Is God proud?
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Here is where I tie in again a recent sermon "Forgiving God!?" with the sin of pride. If you don't think God is doing it right, then of course we take on the job.
We can reject God's work in our lives, or
Believe our spiritual and other good works in our lives makes us good, better than others.
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What does it mean to be humble?

How do we handle our anger and forgiveness toward others?

(A review of last week’s sermon topic). When we are shattered, hopeless – don’t stay in that state and let bitterness grow. You can make anger your ally to move forward. “Good” to forgive each other for own sake – release and reconciliation.

How do we handle are anger toward God?
Are there times we need to forgive God? (Psalms 73-74)

Do you feel disappointed in God? What He has “permitted” in your life and others? Why doesn’t he answer prayer?
Move past denial – admit that you say to yourself “ Why did God allow …..?”
Job would not curse God. No, but he did curse day of his birth, etc (Job 2-3). Jonah was cursing life instead, wishing for death at times. That’s displacement of our anger against God upon ourselves – no way to live.

1) Don’t be afraid to admit how we feel? (Psalm 73: 1-16)
Be honest, let it out. In Psalms 73, he admitted envy of the godless and complained to God and calling him out, what is the purpose in trying to be holy, if the godly suffer and the godless prosper? Is it all in vain.

2) Ask God for a Bigger Perspectives (Psalm 73: 17-20)
Enter His sanctuary - sense His presence. Are we missing the mosaic, not seeing the painting of our life or the cosmos in whole? Don’t we realize that the shadows make the light and colors brighter? Without suffering, how do sense God’s tender mercies? Would you really want to live in a world of programmed niceness or in our world where we have the freedom to risk love?

3) Remember that God feels our pain (Psalm 73: 21-28)
What can God do thru my pain and loss? New opportunity, use my life as an example , teach me patience or other virtue.

God’s compassion. Good to be near Him. He is REFUGE. “Where are you, God? Why have you forsaken me?” Even Christ said that. In the intensity of the moment, He may be testing or moving forward His purposes, but He is faithful, He is our Help and Strength. All things are not GOOD, but God can make ALL THINGS (the totality of your life) work for GOOD

I found a summary on the web that follows along these lines, in the above title link you can click.

Here's our sign for this week - 6000 possibilities !! 

Is forgiveness the most unpopular virtue?
The two-sidedness - everyone thinks is noble and lovely - "high and difficult" except when it is most personal and deep - then it is contemptible to forgive your enemies.

How do we obey to fulfill the condition that we pray " Forgive us our sins as we forgive those that sin against us" (Luke 11:4)?

From the Gestapo to myself and back again.
"Love your neighbor as yourself" (matt 22:39)
How do we love ourselves?
Can we transfer that love and forgiveness in our relationship with others

What is the result?
How do we live?

What of punishment of evil in ourselves and others?

Can we be soldiers, prison guards?

The stunning example - if he and German killed each other.

What is the Christian difference. The attitude, but that is the hardest.

Why is Forgiveness so important?
Love's greatest expression and greatest challenge.

Why is Forgiveness so difficult?

Remember, forgiveness is :

NOT minimizing the wrong.
NOT denial or disregard the consequences.
NOT reconcilation (it takes only one to forgive, two to reconcile)
NOT amnesia - not forgetting the wrong at once, but the bitterness fades.
NOT ignoring your righteous anger.

What is true forgiveness?
Giving up my right to get even or hold a grudge (Eph 4:31)
Letting go of bitterness.

Breaking the shell of a killer
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/153212_ridgwaymain19.html


Why must I forgive others?
He forgave us - it mirrors God's character (Eph 4:32)
Because God commands us in order to experience the wholeness of forgiveness.
For our own release.

How do I forgive others?
There is no innate talent.

Read books, pray, counseling.
Suggested : "Overcoming Hurts and Anger" by Dwight Carlson, "Forgive and Forget" Lewis Smedes (click title link above), anything by David Augsberger.