What makes us. Different? Mountain Life Church Life Pack The Deceiver, The Delivered September 11, 2011

Transcription

1 What makes us Different? Mountain Life Church Life Pack The Deceiver, The Delivered September 11, 2011

2 What Makes Us Different? Sermon Notes September 11, 2011 Genesis 34 I. Introduction: B. City States C. Canaanite Peoples D. The Middle Eastern Revenge Law If you violate me, I will get you back 7 times as bad Later, Moses would institute what was seen as radically just by insisting on an eye for an eye. It is the responsibility of brothers and fathers to protect daughters and sisters E. Women have licle to say about who or when they will marry Write any notes from the week here II. Problems with the Neighbors A. A prince rapes Dinah B. The passivity of Jacob C. The neighbors kindness D. The circumcision requirement Followers of Jesus are not about outer compliance to external rules The thing that makes followers of Jesus different is an inner change that affects the way we treat others III. The Simeon/Levi Scheme A. When culture affects us more than the wisdom of God B. There has been no teaching from God to help the people of God know how to respond differently They know no befer than to act like other people This is how young believers act today The problem begins in the mind 2 19

3 Table Talk Teens Meal One: As a family read Genesis 34, then ask these questions: In Genesis 34:13-17, Jacob s sons had an opportunity to make peace with their neighbors, but instead they dealt with their neighbors deceitfully and with malice. Describe what Jacob s sons did to their neighbors. Meal Two: Jacob s sons let righteous anger over sin turn into unrighteous, unforgiving vengeance. Describe how you would have handled this situation if you were in Jacob s son s shoes. Meal Three: Read Ephesians 4:26. Christian s may respond in controlled anger to injustice and sin, but they should never be consumed by this anger. Instead, they should seek opportunities to express Christ s love to everyone. Describe your thoughts about this verse and statement. Share a time in the past or present how you have reacted to injustice and sin. 18 C. The synergy of a passionate community is missing D. Very licle teaching and understanding of the heart of God E. This shows that Israel had no special acributes that made them more special than any other people group IV.What controls us? A. Thoughts come from these places: God and my spirit Satan / my flesh / history The world / culture V. Spiritual Warfare A. The BaClefield: our minds! Taking thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ 1. Identify the source of the thought (This requires that I learn scriptural principles and truths) 2. Receive it and act on it if it is from God 3. If not from God s kingdom, tie it up and bring it to Jesus. (It may take verbally rejecting it and then refocusing on God through worship!) 4. Always follow up with worship and thanks B. Thoughts and afitudes are a choice! Marinate your mind and emotions in truth (Philippians 4: 4-8) Tru th 3

4 Life Group Questions for September 11, 2011 Isaac & Israel Series Message = What Makes Us Different Ice Breaker: Tell about a person whose character tremendously impacted your life. Read Genesis What do you observe about this passage? 2. What bothers you about this passage? 3. Do you think Jacob did right by lefing his sons decide what to do about Schechem and Dinah? 4. As followers of Jesus, we often do things because we are more influenced by our culture than by the wisdom of God. Can you share a time in your life when you did what the culture would consider normal, but it grieved God s heart? 5. How do you think the women and children of the Hivites thought about the sons of Jacob after their fathers, husbands, and brothers were murdered? Have you ever made wrong decisions that caused others to be offended at you? If any are willing, let them share. On the other hand, if you ve done something that caused others to understand God befer, share about that, too. Table Talk Elementary Genesis 34 Day 1 - Read Genesis 34 together as a family. Take turns reading. Use parental discretion to explain circumcision & what it means to be defiled. (Use age-appropriate language) Day 2 - Do you think Dinah's brothers were justified in being deceitful based on what Shechem had done to her? What does the saying "Two wrongs don't make a right" mean? Day 3 - What would you have done if you were a sibling of Dinah? What are some practical ways to stand up for your siblings when others harm them? Pray for each other 4 17

5 Table Talk Preschool & Nursery: Read your child the story of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10. For the preschoolers and toddlers we are focusing on love your neighbor rather than Genesis 34 which deals with deceit, revenge and rape of neighbors. Bible Verse: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and `your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27 Prayer: O my God, I love You above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because You are all-good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of You. I forgive all who have injured me, and I ask forgiveness of all whom I have injured. Amen Activity: Introduce your child to your neighbors if they don t already know them. When you are out running errands with your child talk about all the people you encounter and how they are our neighbors and God wants us to love them. Personal Devotion Pages The following pages are designed to help you enjoy a regular time alone with God. We have divided up the curriculum to help us grow wherever we are at in our relationship with God and in our knowledge of His Kingdom. LEVELS: Since we are a Colorado church, we use skiing imagery to communicate the different levels of intensity and time involved in relating to God. BEGINNER: If you are new in your relationship with God, we encourage you to try the exercises under this symbol: INTERMEDIATE: If you have walked with God for some time and would like a little more challenge and more time involvement, try the exercises under this symbol: ADVANCED: These exercises are for people who have walked with God for some time and display maturity in their relationship with Him. These exercises provide a practical way to encounter God and His truth on a regular basis. There are no rules here. Please don t hurry through the process. Slow meditation and memorization seems to soak in better than cramming. Enjoy! 16 5

6 Day One 1. Take some time to praise the Lord for who He is, and enjoy thanking Him for what He has done in your life lately. 2. Read Genesis 34 slowly and think about what you have just read. 3. Take time to write down 30 things you are thankful for today. Day Five And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this le7er. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. ~Philippians 4:8 It s the lifestyle of marinating the brain. I remember memorizing this passage when I was 19 years old. I found out for the first time that I could choose what I think about! I can reject evil, wrong thoughts, and accept God s thoughts. From there, I can even choose my mood! God has given us all the authority to stave off the enemy s onslaught of foolish, evil thoughts. We have the authority, thanks to Jesus, to reject the work of Satan in our lives. Take 5 minutes and pray for your family for whatever comes to your mind. Memorize Psalm 100: 1-2 Take 10 minutes to pray for your family, and 10 minutes to pray for people in your life who need the Lord. Memorize Psalm 100: 1-5 Take 10 minutes to pray for your family, and 10 minutes to pray for people in your life who need the Lord. Take whatever time you have left to pray for your church leadership. Memorize Psalm 100: 1-5 Paul says we now overwhelmingly conquer through Him! On this train we call, LIFE, truth must be the locomotive. It drives and leads us. Our emotions are the caboose. They must never be the locomotive. Learning to subject our emotions and thoughts to Jesus is one of the most freeing habits we can acquire! It all begins as I choose to marinate my brain in truth. As the day goes on, I make it a habit to let worship, praise, and honorable thoughts dominate my thinking. I take time to meditate on and memorize scripture, which speaks to me all through the day. Father, today I choose thoughts that give honor and praise to You. I reject all thoughts that bring me down and lie to me. I receive Your Truth! 6 15

7 Day Five 1. Take some time to praise the Lord from your heart. Enjoy Him thoroughly before moving into a time of thanks. Thank God for all the good things He s done for you lately. 2. Read and meditate on Psalm 136 today, and thank God for his faithful love. 3. Ask God to teach you about submission today. Is there an authority (boss, teacher, parent, etc) in your life who is difficult to respect? Tell God that you will choose to respect that person, even though they are not very respectable in your eyes. Write their names here. 4. Finish your Bible memorization today. Day One But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her. ~Genesis 34:2 In the time of Jacob, most cities were their own kingdoms, their own states. Shechem was a prince from the town called, Shechem. Obviously, when you live in a city named after you, you are probably used to getting your way. You re used to getting what you want when you want it. Enter Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah. She s minding her own business and hanging out with girlfriends from the neighborhood. Apparently, Dinah is a looker. Shechem sees her, decides he must have her, and forces her to have sex with him. Now, to understand the rest of the story, we need to know that ancient middle eastern peoples were shame based cultures. Understand also that they were not individualists like we are in the west. If you shame one of them, you shame them all. Ancient cultures valued virginity before marriage. Even before the Law of Moses, middle eastern cultures shamed women who were not virgins on their wedding day. To rape a woman immediately made her an undesirable bride to other men. She would probably never be married. When Schechem violated Dinah, he shamed the whole clan of Jacob. The response in their culture was to kill the one who caused the shame. Shechem and his father, Hamor offered marriage, friendship, and covenant with Jacob s clan. They were trying to make amends. Jacob s sons deceived the Shechemites, and murdered all the men of the city. The chosen people of God murdered everyone in the city in order to wipe out their shame. The clan of Jacob did not ask God for counsel. They did not seek God s wisdom. They simply did what came naturally. God, protect me today from listening to my culture rather than to You and Your wisdom. 14 7

8 Day Two 1. Take some time to quiet yourself before God and thank Him for all He s done in your life lately. Then praise Him for who He is. 2. Read Genesis 34 again slowly. Think about how you would feel if your sister, daughter, or girlfriend was raped. What would be your first response? Write down how you think Jesus would respond to such an event. 3. Meditate on II Corinthians 10: 3-5. How do you take thoughts captive to Jesus? On a daily basis, are you able to keep the gate of your thought life guarded by truth and compassion? 4. Take time to pray for friends, loved- ones, and co- workers who don t know the Lord. Ask Him to bring people into their lives who will boldly live and speak the grace and truth of God into their lives. Ask God if you are one of those people who should be investing into their lives 5. Continue memorizing and meditating on the scriptures for this week. Day Four For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, ~2 Corinthians 10:3-5 If you ve lived very long on this earth, you know it is no bowl of cherries (or chair of bowlies, as my old friend used to say). Life is war. You may be a peace- nick, but in order to live victoriously, you must acknowledge that each day is a bafle in a lifetime of war. There are two invisible kingdoms clashing around us all the time. The kingdom of Satan, which rules many of our cultural norms, stands diametrically opposed to the kingdom of God, led by King Jesus, the risen Lord. God s kingdom rules wherever people willingly lay down their lives for their king. Herein lies the rub. Satan s continual afack is against all of mankind, but especially against followers of Jesus. For if he can deceive those citizens of God s kingdom, he can limit their influence on his realm. The bafle of the two kingdoms occurs primarily IN OUR MINDS. Thoughts come from one of two places: 1. The kingdom of Satan 2. The kingdom of God Father, today I submit all my thoughts to you, taking them all captive to You. I choose to act on Your thoughts. 8 13

9 Day Four 1. Take time to praise God for who He is and then thank Him with a grateful heart for all He has done for you lately. 2. Meditate on Psalm 135 and praise God from your heart. 3. Ask God to speak to you today, in a simple or maybe even a profound way. Give Him permission to say whatever He wishes to say to You. 4. Continue meditating on and memorizing the scripture for this week. 1. Take time to praise God for who He is and then thank Him with a grateful heart for all He has done for you lately. Day Two After reading about the murder of the Shechemites by Simeon and 2. Levi, Meditate we twenty on Isaiah first century 53 and readers thank God sit back for and sending wonder, Jesus Why on did God call this family to be his chosen people? These folks are JUST your behalf. LIKE everyone else. Couldn t God pick a better people group? Even a quick study of the history of the world reveals to us that there is no people group that stands as more venerable and outstanding than any other. The words of Paul shine through in their clarity, For all have sinned and fallen short of God s glory (Romans 3: 23). Moses, the author of Genesis includes the good, the bad, and the oh, so ugly in writing the history of God s chosen people, the Jews. No other ancient writing is so raw, so utterly frank about the shortcomings of its subjects. Because other ancient cultures of the 3. Ask God to speak to you today, in a simple or maybe even middle east were shame based, their historians tended to bleach clean a profound the stories way. of their Give heroes, Him permission leaders and to ancestors. say whatever Far be He it from wishes them to say to include to You. some juicy tidbit of truth about the darker side of their heroes. As a result, most ancient historical writings are sensational and idealistic. The writers of the Old Testament, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote the unvarnished truth in order to show the profound need of all people for a savior. We are all a mess. All of us, even the beautiful, the saintly, and the 4. idilic, Continue are fallen meditating people - on marred and memorizing with selfishness, the shame, scripture and for sin. this week. The Psalmist said it well. He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness. Psalms 147:10, 11 The message of the Bible is this: We are all under sin. We all need a Savior. God has provided the Way. Jesus is His name. 12 9

10 Day Three Day Three 1. Take time to praise God for who He is and then thank Him with a grateful heart for all He has done for you lately. The sons of Israel were held captive to the values and mores of their culture. God had not yet revealed the full beauty of his character, nor his wisdom to these ancient people. They did not know that He is a God of forgiveness, lavishing grace on those who do not deserve it. 2. Sit quietly before the Lord for a few moments and slowly let Him speak to you. Give Him permission to say whatever he wants to say. The sons of Israel did not yet know that there is power in prayer; power to transform our attitudes and actions. They did not know the transcendent wisdom of the God who inspired the wisdom literature we call, Proverbs. They had never heard the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who taught mankind to love sinners. They did not even know to take time out of the day and seek God s direction. Their sister had been raped, so they were going to react. They remind me of so many people in our culture today. Young men and women live together and sleep together because it has become the cultural norm Continue meditating on and memorizing the scripture for this week. Others pour out their hearts to the gods of alcohol and drugs, hoping to find escape from their empty lives. Many pursue the gods and goddesses of pornography, hoping to find fulfillment in the arms of people they will never touch. Our culture shouts in our ears, This is the way, walk in it! Yet it offers no real joy, peace or fulfillment. But most of us do not know the greater way. David said it well, How can a young person keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your Word. God has given His Word to show us the way to wisdom, fulfillment, and peace. It is not an easy path, but is the only way to blessing. All others bring us to misery. Father, before making any decision today, I choose to listen to you and Your Word. Give me Your wisdom to walk in Your ways! 10 11