Beneath the Surface. Lifestyle Bible Institute January 19, 2017 Rev. NaKeisha Blount, Facilitator

Transcription

1 Beneath the Surface Lifestyle Bible Institute January 19, 2017 Rev. NaKeisha Blount, Facilitator Shiloh Baptist Church Ministry of Christian Education Rev. Dr. Wallace Charles Smith, Pastor

2 Last Week Healing Past Hurts Church as a hurt-free zone = the goal but not the reality Called to be Church anyway Matthew 16:18 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

3 Last Week Healing Past Hurts Power Struggles Are One Source of Church Pain Power Struggles Do Not Impress or Glorify God God Prioritizes the Powerless, the Humble Matthew 18: At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. Don t Cause them to Stumble Matthew 18: 6-9 Do Not Despise or Leave them Alone Matthew 18:10-14

4 Last Week Healing Past Hurts Pain Must be Acknowledged... Processed If your brother or sister sins [against you]... Matthew 18:15(a)

5 Last Week Healing Past Hurts Divine Guidance... Matthew 18

6 Last Week Healing Past Hurts Take a Moment to Think Again: Matthew 7:1-5 1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother s eye.

7 Speck versus Plank Less Mature Member s Focus Seeks unity through sameness and conformity Focuses on watching others to see if other are conforming to what they should be doing More Mature Member s Focus Interested in and curious about others, especially their differences Focuses on their own behaviors and whether they are conforming to what they say they believe Creating a Healthier Church Ronald W. Richardson

8 Last Week Healing Past Hurts Naming the Pain If your brother or sister sins [against you], go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. Matthew 18:15

9 Naming the Pain Do NOT: Assume Seek to embarrass Do: Seek to restore

10 Last Week Healing Past Hurts Another Perspective/Credible Witnesses Matthew 18: But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

11 Last Week Healing Past Hurts Out of Harm s Way Matthew 18: If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

12 Last Week Healing Past Hurts Forgiveness on the Path Toward Healing Matthew 18: Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times? 22 Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. God Went First Matthew 18:23-35

13 Last Week Healing Past Hurts God s Grace to Live Out Our Faith We further engage to watch over, to pray for, to exhort and stir up each other unto every good word and work; to guard each other s reputation, not needlessly exposing the infirmities of others; to participate in each other s joys, and with tender sympathy bear one another s burdens and sorrows; to cultivate Christian courtesy;... to be slow to give or take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, being mindful of the rules of the Savior in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew, to secure it without delay... (Church Covenant)

14 Last Week Healing Past Hurts Not Instantaneous Dwelling in the Tension between Accountability and Restoration Process of Moving Past the Hurts... Forward Together

15 Beneath the Surface Lifestyle Bible Institute January 19, 2017 Rev. NaKeisha Blount, Facilitator Shiloh Baptist Church Ministry of Christian Education Rev. Dr. Wallace Charles Smith, Pastor

16 An Unwelcome Word from the Lord

17 About Jonah One of the 12 Minor Prophets Hosea; Joel; Amos; Obadiah; Jonah; Micah; Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi (The Major Prophets Are: Isaiah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah)

18 About Jonah Book Name From Vocation Interior life Dove Gath Hepher (near Galilee; coastal Israel) Prophet

19 From Abraham-> Isaac -> Jacob to a Kingdom Divided Northern Kingdom (Israel) Reuben Simeon Levi Zebulon Issachar Dan Gad Asher Naphtali Joseph Southern Kingdom (Judah) Judah Benjamin Many Enemies

20 About Jonah Not His Only Significant Assignment 2 King 14:25 23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. 24 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. 25 He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, [e] in accordance with the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.

21 Burned Out? What had he seen? What had he heard?

22 Yet Another Word... Jonah 1:1-2 1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. - Unwelcome -

23 Please, Not Ninevah! Assyria Strong Big Imperialistic Did not worship Yahweh Enemy

24 You Can t Go Around it... Jonah 1:3 3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.

25 You Can t Go Under it... Jonah 1:4-6, 12 4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish. * * * 12 Pick me up and throw me into the sea, he replied, and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.

26 Praising God in the Midst of It Jonah 2:1-2 1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. 2 He said: In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.

27 God of a Second Chance Jonah 2:10 10 And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

28 Test Time Again Jonah 3:1-3 1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2 Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you. 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh.

29 Simple Word... Jonah 3:4(b) Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.

30 ... Powerful Response Jonah 3:5-9 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. 6 When Jonah s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.

31 Merciful God Jonah 3:10 10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

32 Is it Right to Be Angry? Jonah 4:1-4 4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the LORD, Isn t this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live. 4 But the LORD replied, Is it right for you to be angry?

33 Fear of Shame... False Prophet Deuteronomy 18: You may say to yourselves, How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD? 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.

34 A Moment of Comfort Jonah 4:5-6 5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the LORD God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant.

35 Keep Your Skin Thick Jonah 4:7-8 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, It would be better for me to die than to live.

36 Remarkable Accomplishments Men on the ship Found his praise People of Ninevah Matthew 12: Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, Teacher, we want to see a sign from you. 39 He answered, A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.

37 Praise God for the Fine Line 2 Peter 3: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.