Notes by Lana
Part
1: Cat & Dog Theology (Source: UnveilinGlory – Thinking outside of the box)
·
Who is
the main character? 2 possibilities: God or Man
·
If we
say God, we still often ask: “What do God get out of us / me?”
·
If we
say Us / Humanity / People – “What do I get out of this?”
·
Both are
man-centered
·
Statement
#1: God is the main character of the Bible & lives to radiate His glory
·
Statement
#2: The average Christian today says God is the main character, but they live
& act as if humanity is the main character & it often replaces God.
Eg. 1 – Why did Jesus Christ come to the earth?
Typical answer: “To die for our sins” – Man-centered
What did God get out of Jesus’ death?
·
Glory,
honor, praise, worship, obedience
Eg. 2 - What is our primary reason for not wanting people to go to hell?
·
So they
won’t suffer – Man-centered
·
For his
Father’s glory – God-centered
3 fold witness/ examples: Jesus, Paul, David
Psalm 30:9 (King David) – What gain is there in my destruction, in
my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your
faithfulness?
·
David is
far more concerned about God not being praised than he is worried about dying
Romans 15:8, 9 (Paul) – For I tell you that Christ has become a
servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to
the patriarchs so that (NOT the Gentiles might not go to hell) / but so that
the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy!
Did Jesus focus primarily on us or His Father?
· Jesus endured the cross for the glory of the
Father – John 12:27-28: “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say?
Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this
hour. Father, (NOT save these kind,
wonderful, worthy people from hell, they don’t deserve it), glorify thy name!!
Doesn’t God love us?
·
Why? He
loves because He is the most glorious being!
·
Romans
11:36 – For from him & through him and to him are all things, to him be glory forever, Amen!
Cat
& Dog Theology
Cats
|
Dogs
|
You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me, I must be God! /
It’s all about us!
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You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me, you must be God!
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God wants to bless me!
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I want to bless God!
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God serves me!
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I serve God!
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God advances my Kingdom!
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I advance God’s Kingdom
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God thinks the world of me!
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I think the world of God!
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God lives to make me famous!
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I live to make God famous!
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God bless America!
|
America bless God!
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God is a means to an end! (God’s blessing is more desirable than God!)
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God is the end!
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What do I get out of this?
|
What does God get out of this?
|
·
Genesis
1 was created, & we were bored……It is like a cancer – always being
man-centered!
·
Life is
not about us, but it’s about God!
Part 2: A Selfish Church
What would it look like if the church were a
selfish bride?
·
We would
come to God not for who he is, but for what he can give us – selfish attitude –
like cancer symptoms
Symptoms:
#1. Feel good theology – The Bible is like a
fridge – open & pick what you want!
·
Psalm
103:11 vs. 1 Peter 2: 20
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Psalm
40:13 vs. Exodus 20:5
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Jeremiah
29:11 vs. Matthew 28:18-20
#2. Get to heaven differently (Different attitudes)
·
Cats:
“Fire insurance policy” in Jesus – walk away from hell (Relief)
·
Dogs:
walk towards God (Joy)
·
Matthew
13:44
#3. Obedience school
·
Cats:
God to obey people
·
Dog:
People to obey God
#4. Quiet times
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Cats:
Focus on individual needs
·
Dogs:
Father how can I reveal your glory in a greater way?
Think about your top 3 prayer list: Is it more about us? Or God’s glory?
#5. Life is supposed to be fair
·
Cats:
Expect life to be fair
3 Examples in the Bible:
a)
Life of Jabez – completed blessed
·
1
Chronicles 4:10 – Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would
bless me & enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, & keep me
from harm so that I will be free from pain. & God answered his prayer!”)
·
How did
God respond? 2 Tim 3:12
b)
Young Girl (2 Kings 5:1-15) - made to live through hell in order to touch a
gentile’s life
Naaman, commander of the army of the king
of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the
Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a
leper. Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl
from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife. She said to her
mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would
cure him of his leprosy.” So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus
and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” And the king of Syria said, “Go
now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went, taking with
him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels[b] of gold, and ten changes of clothing. And he
brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches
you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of
his leprosy.” And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes
and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me
to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a
quarrel with me.” But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel
had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your
clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in
Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of
Elisha's house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the
Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.”
But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would
surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and
wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the
rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in
them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. But his servants came
near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to
you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So
he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the
word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little
child, and he was clean. Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his
company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the
earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.”
c)
Stephen (Acts 6-7) – one man stoned to death
Acts 7:57 – At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of
their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to
stone him.
Acts 6:8
·
Which
life is fair? It is the wrong question to ask
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Life was
designed to be a series of opportunities to point to & radiate &
reflect God’s glory
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All 3
lives glorified God!
·
Whatever
life throws at you, God wants to use it for His glory!
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Life was
never designed to be fair, but life was designed to be a series of
opportunities to radiate & reflect God’s glory. When we truly grasp &
understand this, we won’t have to worry.
#6. Worship
·
Cats:
Worship God primarily for what he has done for them, secondary for who he is
·
Dogs:
Worship God primarily for who he is, secondary for what he has one for them
·
Think
through your favorite worship songs: Is it God centered or man-centered?
Conclusion:
·
Most of
what a cat knows is not incorrect but it is incomplete! - Deut 4:2 “Do not add
to what I command you & do not subtract from it (in this case, the “for the
glory of God” is being subtracted)
·
There
are 2 parts: God’s glory is revealed as God loves us & wants to
bless us (We often cancel out the 1st part & only dwell on the 2nd
part!)
Step into the story of His glory
Christ’s Life Purpose
·
How did
Jesus state his life purpose? John 17:4 –
“I glorified you on earth, having
accomplished the work that you gave me to do.”
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Would
you be interested in doing what Jesus did & accomplishing what Jesus did?
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Passion
– ultimately comes when we understand the great story that we are in, which is
for the glory of God!
Beginning at the End: Glory & Worship
A)
Glory –
What it is & how it flows
·
God reveals
His glory to all nations in order to receive glory from all nations.
·
God
reveals His glory…….People are saved to serve God in worship……..to receive
glory from all nations
B)
Worship
Psalms 96: 1-6 (The
beginning) – Oh sing to the
Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his
salvation from day to day.
Declare
his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be
praised;
he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made
the heavens. Splendor and
majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary”
Psalms 96: 7-11 (The end) – “Ascribe to the
Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an
offering, and come into his courts! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before
him, all the earth! Say among the
nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be
moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.” Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar,
and all that fills it”
·
Missions is not the ultimate goal. Worship
is. Mission exists because worship doesn’t.
·
Worship is the fuel & goal in missions
It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the
nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory. The goal of missions is
the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God.
Biblical Aspects – For His Name & Glory
1. The faith family –
This is My Name Forever
·
Genesis
12:1-3 – Blessed to be a blessing
·
What is
Abram’s first at in response to the blessing He worships God! Gen 12:8, 13:4)
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Even
better: Blessed to be a blessing to be a blessing
2. The Great Display:
A people for His Name
·
At the
Exodus God distinguished His name from all other gods (Exodus 9:1, 13, 15, 29)
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God
exalts the Hebrews before the age of the nations in open covenant (Exodus
32-33)
3. The Great Display:
A place for His Name
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Solomon’s
prayer – 1 Kings 8:15-21, 41-43
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The
nations begin to come – 1 Kings 10:1, 5, 7, 9
4. The Great Delay:
The Profaning of His Name
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Idolatry:
A great profaning – 1 Kings 11:1-9
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The
Exile: God’s jealous persistence for His glory – Jeremiah 17:30
5. Surpassing Hope: A
later greater glory
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Prophetic
vision for His glory – Amos 9:9, 11-12, Psa 86:8-9, Isa 56:6-8, Malachi 1:11
6. The Great Surprise:
New Hope in the Name of Jesus!
·
Phil
2:9-11
7. Your life on
purpose: “For the sake of the Name” – Going & sending for His glory &
kingdom
·
3 John
1:7 – “It was for the sake of the NAME that they out….”
·
Matthew
28:18-20 – “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the NAME of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that
I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
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