W, Double You #1
Theme: The W, double you series
Checking out the divine print of God’s eternal relationship big picture
Today we are covering some keynote images from that big picture, encourage people to be Berean, checking out the details both in their individual time and on Wednesday as part of a plug in (either zoom or in person)
W
The "eight Mega W’s”- Play on words Mega pray on words – alliteration: proven way to enhance illustration.
Big Picture ready reckoner: Wonder, worship, word, will, ways, works, wisdom
Journalistic questions:
What, where. When, who, what, and why plus how
They say journalism is dead
IN so many ways, opinion pieces are taking precedence to investigative journalism and
Opinion for opinions sake is scripturally not encouraged Proverbs:
C.A.P.S OFF
Journaling: being a good steward of our relationship with God and others
Journaling: The axle of relationship
God’s word is, in essence, God’s journal of His relationship with humanity.
For so many people, their perception of relationship has a predominant perspective that talking together is more relaxed, and that getting it in writing makes it more ’serious’. While there is, even Biblically, a truth that this can be the case, it is by no means the full story in terms of getting things in writing as an axel of relationship.
Greeting cards, love letters, memories, songs, poems, parenting resources. Relationship tips, manuals.
www - getting it in Writing avoids a War of Words - death to the “you said, he said, she said, no I didn’t, yes you did…”
Journalism: news profession
Professional is so much more than whether we are being paid for what we do
We are called to Good news profession.
Hebrews 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
Our Profession/Confession - what we have agree upon - Homologia = "same word” - in our case God determines the WHAT and we determine to agree. Some churches determine the what by voting (even secretive voting), we believe it’s ridiculous for humans to take such an approach. Having said that, there is great scriptural scope as per Matthew 18:19 for us to be eternally creative in the way that we express our agreement with the What that God determines (see comments below regarding God Band Prayer Jam)
Psalm 68:11 The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.
The W’s of God: The who, why, when, where, what – the what = relationship.
Who, why, when, where, why all work together to develop our understanding of How Godly relationship works.
Double you
The Job experience:
Double portion blessing
Job 42:10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.
Classic case bad things happen to good people Job 1:1-12
Acts 14:22 "strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said."
JOB 38-41 Key: death to self righteous self justifying, self consciousness, self preservation, self centeredness,
- We before me make it part of our default clause psyche
Matt 6, Luke 11 OUR
Non-Biblical Godless talk-fests
Job 42:7 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.
Where there is a multitude of words
Proverbs 10:19 When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise. (Does this mean women sin more? - I mean for years they’ve been telling us that we as men need to understand that woman do talk more. Doesn’t the science prove that women do? Not saying that talking in itself is a problem, is it a sin for men to talk in public even when women are around about the realities of this apparent fact?)
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
People can talk about God, but that doesn’t mean that they know God. Even though people have a genuine relationship with God, doesn’t mean that they have done their homework and have a working knowledge of what God’s word has to say about specific issues. Learn to be someone who thrives on researching and formulating Biblical based convictions about life weighty matters.
Topic – The wonder
God’s Wonder
Wonder begins and ends with God. It is a multi-aspectational, juxtapositional, paradoxical reality and covers everything from the blatantly obvious to the humanly unfathomable.
Most wonderous and indeed most unfathomable is the cross, the heart and soul of the gospeland the epitome of God’s’ love with its indescribable gift and unspeakable joy
The Blatant
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Psalm 19:1-4 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
The Eternally Mysterious
- Who’s who of history and eternity - His story
- Spoke into being – Francis Collins, only poetry?
- God band prayer jam
- Why war, suffering, only one way – only God is holy, only Jesus went to the cross, only Jesus is the Christ 1 Cor "But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
- Need a pure heart to see God and only by the shed blood of Jesus Christ can we truly have a pure heart (Matt 5:8)
Which eyes? Natural or eyes of our understanding - only comes via Holy Spirit
- The mystery of the ages
Colossians 1:26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord's people.
God wonders
Psalm 139 (whole thing)
- Knows every thought
- Saw things he made and said it was good
- Jesus marvelled at faith and unbelief (Luke 7:9. Mark 6:6)
We are made to wonder
We are made in God’s image for relationship. God encourages us to wonder
Proverbs 25:2 (glory of God)
Acts 17:11
beauty is in the eye of the beholder we need ot behold the beauty of holiness to discover the greatest beauty (2 Cor 3:18)
Our God given capacity and capability to wonder is first and foremost to enhance relationship.
Philippians 2: mind of Christ
John 17:1-3
Proverbs 1: The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity
To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—
A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Anything not in faith = sin - Romans 14:23
Art for arts sake, science for science, education for education, sport for sport without God are idolatry merely temporal vain, self centered devilish, worldly carnal and the likes
BID
Is it any wonder?
Not just any wonder
Wont die wondering