Levi Lusko Passion Update _ Start With God ( Jan 04, 2018 ) TBN

[Music] we always like to take a second to welcome those who are joining us on the live broadcast Church online and those who jump in on TV those who watch on the archived thanks for joining us we're starting a new series of messages and what we're gonna do is we're gonna come around the topic of relationships how many of you are in a relationship anybody at all raise up your hand you do know being a child means you're in a relationship yeah being a brother means you're in a relationship being a mom means you're in a relationship we sort of think about being in a relationship only in terms of intimacy only in terms of romance and of course if you're romantically linked up with someone if you're married to someone then there is a relationship that you are in but there are more relationships in our life than just the ones that involve our hearts in that that unique way we want to make the bad ones less bad we want it we want to make the unbearable ones a little bit less unbearable so far as it lies within us I think it's it should be a source of relief to you that the art of relationship it's not a genetic predisposition it's a it's a choice that takes grit and determination we can all choose to get better and so much of it I think our mistakes and relationships come from we just take relationships as they are without realizing we have a say in the matter we can improve them great relationships are not turnkey or maintenance-free they take effort y'all some assembly is required and expecting a relationship to work just by virtue of you being in it is like making a trip to Ikea imagine how frustrated you would be and how silly it would be for you to bring that home and set it up and your living room and just sit on that tiny like box but how many of us get into a marriage and then it's not what I thought I was gonna be it's not like I saw on the Internet the picture said he would do this but my marriage isn't my marriage isn't good every relationship in your life has the ingredients within it to do something fantastic you just have to be willing to assemble the pieces you just got to be willing to take them and fit them together it takes effort it takes hours of your back cramping of both turning a little kick Jesus help us with the allen wrench right how many hours you spend and not just the diligent effort for installation initially but preservation continually okay I applied myself at one season I went through the premarital we worked at it we went through the counseling intensive there was a season where I really applied myself and the relationship got good but if you take your gat your foot off the gas you'll begin to coast and inertia will eventually be lost you'll eventually lose that momentum and you'll eventually be unhappy with your relationship it takes not only initial work it takes ongoing work it's like the Golden Gate Bridge you know they say that that beautiful bridge it's painted international orange the paint is the primary thing preserving the bridge the paint is the primary barrier against corrosion the paint is the primary way they keep it from falling into the Pacific Ocean and make it safe to drive across you know to San Francisco and be in the opening for full house and all of that right it's it's the paint it's the paint they've actually removed the paint entirely several different times as technology has loved and realized hey if the LEDs not the best way to do this is and so I imagine that job you got to take all the paint off the Golden Gate Bridge and put this new paint on and so what they do is they paint the thing continuously they're always painting some portion of the Golden Gate Bridge because just as they've gotten through one piece of it another piece has now begun to slip and that's how great relationships are you're working on one area you got to work on this here you got to keep it going keep it going keep it going that assembly is constantly required here's our first tool to get better at relationships ready I'm gonna put on the screen start with God start that's the title of my message and that's the first tool I want it to give you now you're like Levi's objection objection you said you're not going to be focusing on relationships specifically but instead tools that apply to all stick with me objector stick with me female Bible proverbs chapter 1 we're gonna jump in at verse 3 where we're told what the book of Proverbs is it says a manual for living pods right there uh who would like to say thank you God that we get a manual for living because we got a manual for everything else in life I mean I got a manual here for a 2016 Chevy Tahoe it tells you everything you need to know about a 2016 Chevy Tahoe I get information here about the infotainment system I got information about the Sirius I got the information about the lock and unlock features I got information about fan max speed a trailer wiring ice possible drive with care I got information about the oil pressure I got information about the headrest I got information about everything I could possibly need air bags seat restraints I get information about seated heated seat warmers key doors and windows there's a chapter about rear power wash fluid a key for when you're in a valet parking scenario I mean there is there is so much in for flex fuel fuel economy into your life I got a book I can go to for any dilemma I got from my Chevy Tahoe 2016 QR code on the back does anybody still use those don't know um I got I got a camcorder manual here this has helped me preach this message I if I go over here real fast I'll jump to a wide shot if I'm here for a while they'll come in close to my beautiful close-up if if and this is happening here I don't know how it all works but I could open this book up for any dilemma for focus issues if we're if we're if we're gonna be real about it then I'm not that thankful as I get older that HD technology just gets better and better as I look worse and worse um I got a manual here for for my wireless mic pack that's helped me preach this sermon it's in my back pocket and somehow it through a wire that runs up my shirt that Tim ran down my shirt before the service started that that that as I'm talking it catches it here and goes down here and then shoots through the air to a board and it pulls it into a speaker array that goes out where it's eventually shot out to our 11 locations hello then it goes live on our radio stations okay and then it gets archived and gets listened to by approximately eighty to a hundred thousand people in a week and then it goes out to our TV show which reaches millions of people including every 50% of the prison systems in America and a majority of the army bases military bases goes out on Church online where people can join in and be chatting where they're hearing about things that went in through and if we get any problems like interference like we're picking up a ham radio it's happened if if the Coast Guard got super chatty we come into a new city when we do tours and all of a sudden there's new interference that we aren't used to in the native environment and so we one of the first things they gotta do is listen to the spectrum and analyze UHF VHF VCR whatever ad D they got going on and this will tell you how to do all that just from this tiny little pack and if you speak German it's in there for that too so the point is we got manuals for everything everything you're like like how much of things this is one for a highchair I have for my son Lennox how many scenarios can there be for a highchair it makes him not be low but instead be high it's got a seat belt you pull it up to the table that really should be it it should just be one thing put him in it eat you're done goodbye but and what is so refreshing to me is that in the Bible God gave us look at it one more time a manual for living and that's awesome and you should thank Jesus because life has a lot more knobs and buttons and levers than my high chair it's complicated stuff living is and Solomon who is being called has been called the wisest person who ever lived how he got that is it a great story you should read sometime it's amazing he got says what do you need like Robin Williams - Aladdin - what do you need literally happen the Bible says Solomon gave got a thousand burnt offerings and that night God said what do you want asked me I just loved that because that's what radical generosity unleashes Emmanuel for living we've read four words that are speeded on up oh but Solomon said to God when God said poof what do you need I Sam st. Solomon said I want to be smart I want wisdom he said I'm young man I'm I'm the king but I don't know nothing man and I need wisdom to lead well you could have asked for four for Richards you could've asked for power you could have asked for four a hoverboard like Michael J Fox Road and back to the future part two you could have asked for anything but you asked for a heart of wisdom so you know I'm gonna do I'm gonna give you all three I'm gonna give you all three there will be no one richer than you no more powerful than you and no one with more wisdom than you and I just loved that when we link our heart up with God's heart and we were willing to say goodbye to our dreams sometimes God has a funny way of giving us the dreams back we laid down at his feet I'm just saying I just feel like I'm preaching for somebody right now specifically when you lay your dream down at his feet he is safe to trust with it and he'll give you his dream for your life and I I just I just care you to believe in a more powerful way than you could ever have imagined he'll also give you the desires of your heart so that's Solomon's story and being the wisest person in the world I'm really glad that he chose to write a book that's the kind of guy you want writing a book you know because he would've died all that wisdom would have gone into the grave with him but no he gave it to us Emanuel for living for learning what's right and just and fair who's it for well continue on to teach the inexperienced the ropes damn that's helpful because every one of us are inexperienced in some regard and as life goes on we though we are experienced become in experience because we introduce seasons we go from experience to in experience every day and we got a manual for living that's awesome and give our young people a grasp on reality young people you need a grasp on reality because when you're young you feel like your mortality isn't real that's why we do such stupid stuff when we're young and we think it's funny to not wear seatbelts and do not wear helmets and we don't we don't realize how much of a vapor life is and how it can go eat gum guggul from one second trailer we're laughing and YouTube and redbull to ICU and tubes down throats and just how fragile life is we need a grasp on reality when we're young amen somebody you can you can do stuff when you're young that lives on with you every day we're packing a time capsule to be opened up in a couple years and a couple years and a couple decades in a couple decades and so we need a grasp on reality now you're the old people whenever I preach like that I was like yeah tell those young punks what to do you know but there's something here also for seasoned men and women don't you love how he covers every base there is seasoned men and women still a thing or two for the experience to learn fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate the rhymes I love this and reasons of wise men and women so at the end of the day this manual is for all of us okay you're like dang get into it sucker like I need I need all this all right here we go just raising to begin verse seven start with God start with God the first step in learning is bowing down to God only fools thumb their noses as such wisdom and learning what I love about this here that feels like it's not a tool but makes it a tool is that we are inclined when we talk about relationships to want to immediately move on to my cousin who's annoying me and my brother who bugs me and my spouse and I who are having this issue and we want to rush to talk about how to be a better mom and we want to figure it but if you're not careful your life can become a game of whack-a-mole and it's funny how even even success in one area can cause you to feel like you're failing in another okay now I focus on work and I'm crushing it at work a little bit I'm being successful here but now I realize I'm failing at home I've been neglecting my spouse I haven't been present for my kids even when I am present I'm on my phone like all my kids ever see is just me on my phone right like like that's not what we want so don't focus on that but then as we're doing that but then the expectations are over here cuz didn't didn't your mom say she wanted you back for Thanksgiving but you were really kind of looking forward to Thanksgiving with just your immediate family okay so now you're winning with your with your your parents but you're losing with your kids and then you try and and all of a sudden we feel like we're on a seesaw one side goes up does that force another side down do I have to choose to be successful or to be great relationally right yeah is it going to be in my sports life that I'm great or in my spiritual like we're just all of a sudden now feel like one thing goes up once it goes down and the moment we're killing in one area now we have to deal with the fact that there's people that we thought were our friends who are becoming jealous of us and envious of us because sometimes people who have given up their dreams resent you for living yours there's a little bit of truth to that hate you because they ain't you kind of a thing we're now sudden that makes us successful here but I'm experiencing fires breaking out on fronts and fights showing up on sides of my life but I thought were fine and shored up because they were always with me until I walked away from them a little bit to walk towards what God had for me and now all of a sudden I'm seen they weren't ever really with me and so what's going on here well here's here's the problem we're missing the crucial first step and we're neglecting a tool because if we would start with God it's one relationship in your life that unlike any other relationship has the ability to improve the quality of every human relationship you are in all at one time so instead of playing whack-a-mole we can get off the seesaw and instead first things go first and if we get better at walking with God all of a sudden we are a better version of ourselves to approach work to approach school to approach home to approach romance and intimacy Jesus said it to Sydney Matthew 6:33 seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you our problem is we go seeking after all the other things at the expense of the most important thing but if we put the most important thing in the proper place then every other thing will eventually fall where it should be as well it's not only a relationship it's also a tool because if we get better at walking with God we'll get better at everything now you would say to me great how do I start with God huh how do I get better at walking with God the answer is in the question you start with God relationally by starting with God literally what do you mean I mean that in the plainest possible sense of the word every day that's the first point jot that down what do you mean I mean when a new day begins begin with him just give him some time before you give time to anything else so a new day begins start with Jesus because guess what you are shaped by what you start with and so if you start with Jesus by reading his word by talking to him in prayer you like all prayer that's every intention of praying but I try and I don't get it but maybe you need to get up from your knees and and walk around maybe you need to just take a walk with God maybe maybe you need to put earbuds in and just talk to him driving people think you're on the phone right maybe you need to put God in as a contact on your phone you seem to be very vocal through your thumbs okay talk to God with your thumbs I wrote most of my books through the eyes of a lion which began as sort of a prayer journal on my phone I couldn't type for some reason I couldn't write with a pen but I could write with my thumbs for some reason it just flowed out and what eventually became the book through the eyes of a lion started out with just me kind of crying out to God in the midst of pain and difficulty and telling you things that helped me and telling him things that hurt me and and so it was just power that came out of prayer and I'm just telling you when you begin your day not with CNN not with Twitter not with you know some fashion magazine not with a novel not with a movie don't be fooled if you don't get anything out of it because you're only perceiving that you did it what you got out of it might be something you don't yet know you need but God wanted to give to you before the difficulty came if you don't worship God you're missing on the chance to receive that day's mercies because limitations three says that God so faithful is mercies don't want us to be consumed passions feel not there new every morning they get reset every day so if you don't get that taste mercies they're gone second way you start with him every dollar every time a new dollar comes into your life the discipline that you want to develop is where you start with him proverbs 3 9 and 10 puts it this way look at this honor God with everything you own give him the first and the best then your barns will be bursting and your wine vats will brim over so here's what Scripture teaches when you get paid every single time you get paid you're taking a test and the test is who will you honor highest and that's who you pay first we should put our hearts in God's kingdom because why how do we how does that work jesus said wherever your treasure goes that's where your heart is no matter what you buy you think about it when I when we found out we were pregnant with Lennox I had to buy all new baby stuff because we got rid of everything cuz we were done having kids surprise right and so I can't tell you how much time I spent watching reviews on strollers and car seats and reviewed the latest information on safety and side impact right and and and and as I bought these things two things happen I not only became knowledgeable him again talking about other people more like a people around baling help me talk to you about strollers like him here's my staff look laughing because it's true and and I'll stop someone on the airplane but that's a baby Zen yo-yo plus I love that stroller I think it's great folds up very small I like guys like haha he was from France France um but but but what I invested in both in time and money I cared about I cared about it and and get this I was tracking it pretty compulsively cuz when I get a tracking number for FedEx I'm dangerous I I'm just gonna track it I'm a tracker I'm a tracker I'm a tracker like every day I'm sure I gonna have to be careful I'll track I literally will track something before I have my quiet time if I'm not careful and and and so it's because investment has been made and your heart's invested in those things so it's not only because God's gonna book he will he will bless you if you put in first financially it's what we talk about all the time tithing or whatever God gives you the first in the best so you've got to start with those baby steps of tithing and eventually you can get in a greater and greater and greater gears of generosity where you're able to give away what you never would think of ever even making at some point in your journey and the more you give the more you're invested because your heart's bought into God's kingdom here's the third thing jot this down every decision life's full of difficult decisions and choices you know where do I live and who do I marry we should think about what God thinks about a decision before anything else I'm saying that we should start with God not in with God one of my favorite verses in the book of Proverbs is proverbs 3 4 through 7 look at in the Living Bible it says if you want favor with both God and man and a reputation for good judgment and common sense then trust the Lord completely don't ever trust yourself don't go with your gut right in everything you do put God first and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success that's what we're after our efforts being crowned with success by God because we didn't consider what he thinks of any decision we make last he's the first one we go to we go to him in prayer we ask for godly counsel and we considered that at the highest part of her list every disagreement we start with God every disagreement we need to start with God when we're in conflict we need to start with God when we're in a fight we're gonna be better at the art of relationships we need to be better at the art of conflict but we all are capable of doing things in a disagreement and that could have been fixed if we would have started with God I've taken a second deep breath Center ourselves a bit ask God for some counsel pray about it for just a moment and then acted before we send the text message proverbs says on the subject of conflict as well things problems 19 it says the discretion of a man makes him slow to anger and his glory is to overlook a transgression alright last one every difficulty when you get into a hard spot when you get into a difficult place in your life you need to start with God what will happen is hardship will come and you'll think where's the goodness of God and you think we're gods abandon me I'm trying to follow you and this happens I get laid off at this this happens like and and I'm trying to seek you and we'll misunderstand that God always deposits his greatest treasures in the midst of what can be the most horrific circumstances and and here's what proverbs says on that subject that just as a refiners fire purifies gold and silver God is seeking to purify hearts and if we start with God when life gets difficult we will not raise our hands and condemn him with our fists of fury we'll raise our hands up and surrender and worship and I'm telling you in times of confusion don't doubt God seek God call out to God in the day of trouble and he will hear you and he will help you and so in all of this every day every dollar every decision every disagreement and every difficulty we need to start with God but we don't need to do any of it alone we need to do all of it surrounded by God's people we is always better than me we is always stronger than me stronger than me look what proverbs 24 says on the subject it says if you fall to pieces in the midst of a crisis there wasn't much to you in the first place and I think really what a lot of times people discover when life gets hard is that they didn't put the right rhythms and support systems in place to make it through they weren't building a life that was storm proof he died for you and because He is God and sinless he rose from the dead on the third day ascended to heaven and sent His Holy Spirit into the world this is the gospel and the Spirit of God knocks at men and women's hearts and gives us a chance to get right with God not on our merit not because of good behavior but because of what Jesus did on our behalf we never know when life will end and we never know when our last opportunity to be saved comes because scripture says and I don't love it but it's what it says you can't come to God whenever you want you can only come as the father draws you your God loves you and wants to save you but you have to open the door of your heart to him no one can make you follow Jesus all I'm supposed to do is tell you what the good news says and leave it to the Holy Spirit in your heart would you pray with me all of us bow in our heads close in our eyes fathers we give space for salvation to occur knowing it takes the collision of divine and human energy we just ask that there would be a response to your spirit and mini hearts and as our heads are bowed eyes our eyes are closed if you would like to trust Christ for salvation if you'd like to turn from your sins and be forgiven because of what Christ did on the cross if you'd like to go to heaven when you die and receive hope while you lived I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me I'm gonna say it piece by piece just say it to God make it your prayer to him I'm not a priest this is your moment we got I'm just giving you words to say say this out loud to God say they say dear God I know I'm a sinner I need your forgiveness please come into my heart and make me new I believe Jesus died for me and rose from the dead I need your life I need your strength fill me with your spirit help me to be born again in Jesus name I pray [Music] what an incredible opportunity to rally our hearts are on God's kingdom as one year ends and a new one begins the Bible says that God goes before us into the new year anointing it or crowning it with goodness and his paths they drift with abundance at the beginning of 2018 I hope you just understand that God is already in your tomorrow and he's setting things up for you to walk in the best and the most intelligent thing we can do would be to start with God in this new year and so as we have this whole week kind of really as an opportunity to choose how something's going to go for us next year as you think back to 2017 and you take inventory of what you wish was different what you wish you had done more of or perhaps less of I just really challenge you to start with God in this new year just as every dollar brings us the opportunity to put God first and tithes to put God first and offerings above and beyond that we had the chance really in setting the precedent for the new year how it's gonna go and I would just encourage you to just make the decision to start with God whatever that looks like for you maybe it's a fast maybe it's you know a brand new devotional that you're gonna go [Music] and the title of my message this weekend is fresh and flourishing so if you take notes which I hope you do the title is fresh and flourishing turn to your neighbor and say keep it fresh good job all right it's all 92 12 through 15 the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God they shall still bear fruit in old age they shall be fresh and flourishing say fresh and flourishing to declare that the Lord is upright he is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him and father we just ask as we study your word this weekend we just believe that you have something so specific for each and every one of us and in our spheres of influence and our walks of life right where you have us that you want to speak to our hearts and so we ask that we would lean in that our hearts would be ready for all that you have for us in this time and we thank you Lord in Jesus name Amen so the psalm 92 it's a psalm or a song of praise and it was written as a song for the Sabbath day which is also awesome to get to study it this weekend as we gather our church all across Montana and in Salt Lake City and as we get to study in the Sabbath time and I also encourage you to read the whole psalm it's such a good song I mean there's there's what we know and read a lot of that says that we declare your loving-kindness in the morning and your faithfulness every night verses like that so read that when you get a chance to at some point today but this weekend we're going to learn how to keep it fresh and flourishing in our and number one what we see here in verse 12 our first point is flourish and grow verse 12 says the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree and I have a picture of a palm tree there's a few of them here but I think you all know what a palm tree look like looks like there was a time where we had my husband and I led the small group together of students and one of the students had never seen a palm tree before so maybe some of us haven't ever so that there's a palm tree for either tall palm trees have a tap root and stand straight and tall its roots go down through the desert to be watered in the depths it's an evergreen and it's known for its variety of fruit John Phillips noted one traveler in the East reported seeing palms standing 90 feet tall and bearing fruit after 200 years and Spurgeon said the growth of the palm tree is slow but their endurance lasts for centuries and that's so amazing just that flourishing and growing it's so interesting because palm trees actually stand a lot of abuse in storms and wind the wind that breaks other trees only bends a palm tree and then it comes back up palm trees have roots that go deep down to draw up the water in the desert area and they can survive when other trees are dying and palm trees they just keep on producing fruit and their fruit doesn't diminish it actually gets better and gets sweeter which is so cool as they get older their fruit gets better also in verse 12 it says the righteous shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon and here's a picture of a cedar just so you know what a cedar looks like I don't know if you can see that but there's a huge boulder right next to it and I don't know if you can see that either but there's people standing right in front of it and they look tiny compared to the huge trunk and branches of the cedar and the roots are actually kind of coming out and I just love learning about life and trees and plants and Cedars can grow up to be 130 feet tall with a trunk diameter of 8 feet 2 inches the cedar flourishes in the snows and storms of the mountains and spreads its roots out and twining them around rocks and other Cedars roots they have much foliage and their wood is incorruptible fragrant and richly grained what strength cedars have I want to grow like that jesus said in John 10:10 the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy I have come that they may have life and have it in all its fullness this is a full life an abundant life and over and above kind of life and I would add a fresh life the life but Jesus came to give us and this is actually just the very heart of the name fresh life and I don't know if a lot of you know what the name is behind what we named fresh life but when my husband and I before we ever even moved here before we knew who you were before we knew what this church was about before we had the privilege of getting to lead this church God gave us this name we were sitting with our daughter Olivia who was about a year and a half old at the time we were sitting with her in a restaurant in the Salt Lake City Airport that's one of the reasons why Salt Lake City is so special to us but we were asking God to lead us and show us are we really supposed to move from California to Montana like is that really a thing God is that really what you want us to do and it was amazing because earlier that morning Levi had prayed God if you give us a name for this church that we don't just like but that we love we'll move to Montana and at that point we there was no names on the radar we had no idea we weren't and so while we were there sitting there we were just praying what what does God want to do what what is what is this heart for this region and and we just kept thinking about how God wanted to do something for how he wanted to breathe fresh life how he wanted to do a fresh work and we looked at each other and we're like fresh life okay that's amazing and in my mind I'm like oh there's definitely a church called fresh Life Church but we looked up fresh Life Church com no such thing fresh Life Church org no such thing so Levi bought both of those clothes his laptop and said well I guess removing in Montana and it's not amazing I love it I love how simple God moves it's not always such a huge thing it can tend to be just such a simple thing like that and that was our heart ten years ago and it's still our heart now for you to believe in and love Jesus and to live the fresh life that you were born to live how do we flourish and grow well we what we do is we live what Jesus explained in John 15:5 which says he says I am the vine you are the branches he who abides in me and I in him he bears much fruit for apart from me you can do nothing and we can do nothing apart from Jesus we need to abide and remain and stay close to Jesus and let everything we do come out of our relationship with him and it's amazing because God is the one who starts this work in our hearts he's the one who's calling us he's the one who's drawing us but we are the ones to keep working and protecting and guarding and watering and to keep it fresh we must work at what God began in Philippians two 12 through 13 the amplified bible says continue to work out your salvation that is cultivated bring it to full effect actively pursue spiritual maturity with all inspired fear and trembling using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend god or discredit the name of christ for it is not your strength but it is God who is effectively at work in you both to will and to work that is strengthening and energizing and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose for his good pleasure and to be clear we're not working for our salvation we're working out our salvation we're saved by grace I love how my husband says we don't behave and get saved we believe and receive and so it we're not doing anything for our salvation only Jesus does that for us but we are working out our salvation and we must guard what he began proverbs 4:23 says above all else guard your heart for everything you do flows from it my husband loves trees this is segue my segment we recently added a few trees into our yard and they are his favorite he loves just sitting in our yard and watching the trees grow watching the trees grow and listening to them and it's actually really yeah it's really really great and as these trees are newly planted they need lots of attention and water and more water and protection and care and so do our souls and just because we might be seasoned in the faith maybe we've been a believer for a long time this doesn't mean our hearts don't need the protection and care and watering that they needed at the beginning when we first gave our hearts to Christ and as we've been learning in the past of a couple weeks we've got to keep adding water because our hydration must be continual so our first point we are what is it flourish and grow so we abide in Jesus and number two bloom where you are planted bloom where you are planted verse 13 says those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of art God and if we want to flourish like the palm tree and have this fruit that comes from our lives that gets sweeter and sweeter and better and better with age then we must bloom where we're planted and let our roots go down deep into the house of the Lord this is so important I love this Spurgeon said once planted in the house of the Lord we she'll never be rooted up but in his courts we shall take root downward and bring forth fruit upward to his glory forever and like the cedar I love this so much we we can spread our roots out and let them in twine with rocks and other cedars and we can let our personal walk with Jesus be fragrant and vibrant for those around us and we live our lives both being an example for others and others being an example to us and this is one thing that I just love so much and I actually have just this picture in my mind of the roots intertwining because we have four daughters we have three here on earth and one in heaven and these three on earth and have so many examples of girls that are just a little bit older than them and a little bit older than them and I just love how there's just that generational life that happens when we get together and we're able to live our lives for Jesus being an example to each other being an example to the little the little ones in this house and also for them to be able to look up and know what it looks like to to get older and to go through new phases of life and just all those roots that intertwine and where we're helping each other raise each other and I just I love it and I'm so thankful for that in our girls lives our children's lives in this house in all of our lives and we meet each other we need to let God use us and the Fresh Brook that he's doing in our hearts reach out and help those that we encounter I love how Psalm 34 3 and the psalmist is saying o magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together and I just love that picture of hey come on let's go let's go to the house of the Lord let's whatever is going on in your life we'll just let's just come come and see come and taste and see that the Lord is good a good true friend will always point you to Jesus will always point you to just keep showing up no matter how you feel just keep showing up keep those kind of friends in your life and be that kind of friend to others in your life first Thessalonians 5:10 says he died for us so that whether we are awake or sleep we may live together with him therefore encourage one another and build each other up so if that's our hearts as we gather together to encourage one another build each other up in our fresh life groups encouraging one another building each other up there's just gonna be this whirlwind of faith and love and hope and excitement for what God is doing in our hearts wherever you are be all there be the church bloom right where you are when it's hard keep blooming when it's really hard be like the palm tree be like the cedar and keep growing don't give up being planted we need each other I think I've said this a lot of times before too but it's important to get this stuck in our heart Hebrews 10:25 let us not give up meeting together some are in the habit of doing this instead let us cheer each other up with words of hope let us do it all the more as you see the day coming when Christ will return so when the storms come keep showing up when you're offended when you're disappointed when you're hurt notice I said when don't be so easily offended or turned away but let it push your roots down even deeper and let God's grace grip you even more and to continue to be h2o heaven to others okay so good and I just want to encourage you all in this fresh life house as we're heading into this exciting season my husband is explaining all these awesome things that are happening where we're going into a new series a new season of fresh life groups and teams I just want to challenge all of you to let your group your roots go down a little bit deeper and we're gonna be heading into our rhythms of back to school and I just want you to consider what may be something something new that God would have you to do or be a part of or maybe just putting even extra energy and effort into what you're already doing and maybe it's time to step out and join a fresh life group to start serving on a team and let's just lean into the season together and like William Carey said let's expect great things from God and attempt great things for God together and as we seek to keep it fresh we must also number three shake up the freshness shake up the freshness verse 14 says they shall still bear fruit in old age and they shall be fresh and flourishing the righteous will bear fruit in all a old age I just love this so much because there's so much hope for all of us as we're getting older we're all getting older but as we're getting older we're gonna be able to as we're righteous and following Jesus we're gonna still get to bear fruit like the palm tree still like their fruits getting better and sweeter like we have the potential of our fruit to get better and sweeter as we get older not bitter and we can be like Caleb in the Old Testament at the age of 85 saying crazy things like give me this mountain and I was weak walk with Jesus and his time goes by we might find ourselves in a rut and I think that's normal for every single one of us maybe things are getting a little too comfortable and maybe we are finding some separation in our hearts and I just wanted to point out we used to juice all the time we don't really see very much but this is actually peanut butter but as you can see their separation and with natural juices freshly made juice there is a separation that occurs every bottle says on it things like shake away separation drink and figuration or shake well separation is natural and left alone for a while you can see these ingredients they just kind of shift because with natural juices there's um there are no fillers or binders or chemicals so it naturally separates and I would suggest to you that in our lives separation is natural our hearts left to themselves start to divide their attention and yes we love God still but we start getting distracted and we start letting the things of this world grab our attention and the bread and circuses of this world start dividing our hearts and our affections and our soon our focus isn't purely on Jesus anymore and isn't this exactly what the psalmist said in Psalm 86 11 teach me your way Lord that I may rely on your faithfulness give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name and I love how the New King James put it puts it unite my heart to fear your name and that's actually something that I feel like I say regularly when I find myself kind of slipping or find my attention being moved I pray God unites my heart to fear your name unite my heart to fear your name our hearts play tricks on us and if we're not careful we will be tricked over time into thinking that we're doing great nothing's really wrong but then all of a sudden we find that separation and our hearts and so what needs to happen to let our hearts be shaken up well I would follow what Psalm 86 just said teach me your way O Lord we must take responsibility of our own souls and follow him let him lead let him take control I would encourage you to read aw Tozer x' book ret rot or revival and this is a great read to just stir up your your hearts and that he says when we come to the place where everything can be predicted and nobody expects anything unusual from God we are in a rut and that's that separation that naturally happens when we're not tending to our heart and guarding our heart this affects how we view our trials and the change that happens in our lives we all know that transition and change can be really hard but when we see them and we see them with the lens of faith somebody and ask God well how do you want to shake up my heart in this Lord show me your way in this and help me to use this change this pain this frustration this heartache to bring my focus back to you and your kingdom and to bring glory to you tozer also said in that in that book to be complacent is to have no desire to get any we're and I think so many and so many of us can be so just I'm okay I'm complacent to not want to go anywhere do not want to do anything new to just to sit and be where I am so let's not stay sedentary where we are and what we do so you shake vigorously right when you shake vigorously the separation goes away and so pretty green and then this land yeah I don't know if you can see that there's some gnarly chunks in there and I think this is like apple cider and I think those chunks will always be in there but you just shake it up so that you get the full taste and what it was meant to be that full fresh taste and then that's peanut butter but just I just wanted you to see I just wanted you to see the separation but let's let God shake us up I feel like we should be in a place where we should let him do the work in us that he wants to to accomplish through us and this is truly fresh life living let's let the Holy Spirit permeate every area of our lives they men and when we let our lives be shakable fresh fresh growth can happen and no matter what happens we will always be blooming and growing and as we get older we can keep it fresh and this picture of my mind I love so much we on our own experience tour we were hosted by a church that was 80 years old and I don't know if I've ever seen an 80 year old church but it was not what you would think I mean in my mind I think of an eight year old 80 year old church is a big Cathedral type thing and the people in it are older in years and but it was amazing because this eighty year old church you walk in and it felt so fresh and vibrant and there were people of all ages and it was and I and that's what we can be we can still be fresh and young as we get older 2nd Corinthians 4:16 says though our outward man is perishing that's the reality of it our inward man is being renewed day by day and thank you Lord for that truth and that promise and this leads us to our final point that we can number 4b shakable and unshaken we can be shakable and unshaken which I'll explain this a little bit more but verse 15 says to declare that the Lord is upright he is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him and I'm guessing that most of us if not all of us want to be like a palm tree we want to be like a theater we don't want to be like the tumbleweed that Psalm 1 talks about just rolling around in the wind with no purpose no aim just rolling rolling rolling we want to have that vibrance and that fruit and that freshness about us and we want God to shake us up and we want God to wake us up but I think for a lot of us we might be scared as to what that might mean for us as to what it might mean for God to to shake things up in our life because we're comfortable when it things start to settle you just get comfortable but for us to be in a place where we can look at whatever might be coming around the corner and we can say even if that means a huge trial a painful experience changing jobs losing a job changing schools moving to Africa those are very that one's kind of wild but but it can be scary surrendering to the Lord not knowing what's coming around the corner and asking him because when you ask when you say God shake me up a bit things are gonna happen in your life that are gonna shake you up a bit and we need to be ready for that and in this church we train for the trial that we're not yet in right and so we need to be readying ourselves for whatever is gonna come around the corner that might shake us up a little bit and my hope is that we would truly be training for that and training and readying ourselves individually because a revival starts with the individual and together as a church and what I want to tell you is that when our lives are shaken up God won't let us be shaken when our lives are shaken up when God's doing some shakin in our lives we won't be shaken you know what does that even mean well look again at Psalm 92 verse 15 the Lord is upright he is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him our lives might feel out of control at times but when the Lord our God is our rock we won't be shaken because we're standing on the rock and it's always so good to get into God's Word I'm just such an encouraging thing to find out what God has for our hearts that's right it's so so good I just love even in the season of spring and just new beginnings and new life with my baby boy see that baby boom but we I just want to encourage you I don't know what season you're in and obviously we're in spring maybe in your heart it's winter and maybe you just need just a touch from the Lord and you need a word from him and I just want to encourage you that he loves you and that he has such a plan for you and a purpose for you even in the midst of winter it can be spring and summer in your soul even if you're going through winter so I just pray

Channel: Levi Lusko Sermons

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Id: i6htJSbzriY

Length: 51min 39sec (3099 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 04 2018