The Sound of Music

I've always thought life would be much more enjoyable if it was a musical...I mean, who doesn't want to just bust out in song with complete strangers?

Sermon Notes

Ok so here's my first shot at putting up some sermon notes. Quick intro: Mark Driscoll gave a teaching on Spiritual warfare to a group of leaders in his church (Mars Hill) and my Bible study group has watched the first two, and I took notes on the second episode. Without further ado....



MARK DRISCOLL-

SPIRITUAL WARFARE PART 2:

-Warning: Driscoll tends to be long, so I wrote a lot of notes. Also, they are notes for me, so they may not make sense to you. I'll try and work with it to help you out-


-Satan didn't show up and attack Adam till he was married. He likes to ruin familys.

-Those who preach false doctrines are demonically inspired. False doctrines usually has verses, but it doesn't have teh whole truth. Gen 3: Knew God's word, changed a little. Eve added to it ("we can't touch it"). So much of what constitues spiritual warfare is false doctrince. Heresy. Sometimes obvious, sometimes very subtle.

-Plain old sin it another tactic. Involving false doctrine and false lives.

False Doctrine= death of truth. False Life= Death of Holy.

-Ordinary Demonic-(very subtle)

• Sexual Sins: "married couples shouldn't withhold from each other except by agreement, so as not to allow Satan in." Withholding is demonic. Not feeling like giving it until you get something is demonic. It can lead to sin and heartache: wants intimacy-->rejected-->bitter--->Satan stirs up and makes more bitter---->(not sure what I wrote here. I think it was "temptation from word" but that makes no sense...sorry.)---->sin.
  
• Marriage/dating between Christian and non-Christian: "what does light have to do with darkness?" God desires Godly offspring.
  
• False relegions/teachers/Jesus: Some do have supernatural experiences, but from Satan. the Jesus of Oprah is demonic. Ask that Jesus if they are from Nazareth born of the virgin Mary.
  
• Bitternes: Eph 4:17-32. vs 26:"Be angry but do not sin." Anger is the right response to sin. It can be a great motivation to do something that is just and right and good. {side note-worldy sorrow: will confess to you to get it off their chest but don't feel sorrow, remorse, don't want to "go and sin no more."} Don't feed it (anger). Give no opportunity to the devil. No corrupting talk, but only that that builds up. Bitterness is a demonic foothold. {Explained: if I sin against you do I feel guilty and convicted or bitter? (guilty and convicted would be the correct answer). Vice versa? (you sin against me) I feel bitter. Bitterness happens to the one sinned against. 1: You sin against me, I don't forgive, I get bitter. 2: I think you sinned against me, but don't forgive, I get bitter. 3: Jealousy/You have, do something I want. Somebody says no to you, you don't get what you want, you get bitter. Dig up the root of bitterness, otherwise it will grow up and defile many. Bitter people are proud to blame those around them for their bitterness. Amy Carmicheal: "sweet water glass, gets bumped, sweet water comes out. Bitter water in glass, gets bumped, bitter comes out. Other people don't make your insides, they just reveal them." Bitter people replay the instance(s) over and over again. Obsessive. They are most likely to be bitter against those closest. Someone you expect something from but they fail to deliver. Naomi said to change her name to bitter because "God made me bitter." She did confess it though, and ran to God's people to get some help. Eph 4:31 talks about the dangerous growth process of bitterness: I'm not gonna forgive you--->replaying it over and over--->getting angry, hot, emotional--->doing something against that person--->talk about them to others, get others on your side. Put bitterness away before it reaches Malice. Malice is the next level, where you stop caring aobut consequences just to get revenge. 2 Cor 2:11 says "Satan will not win if we know his schemes." How to deal with bitterness: be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving as God forgave us. Bitterness is an epidemic. Everyone gets affected. So many groups distinguish themselves by what they hate. Unite under God's love.
  
• Foolishness and drunkeness: Satan likes to party. Be filled with the Holy Spirit like a boat's sails. When you party, go out drinking, doing stupid stuff with buddies, you're putting your sails down.
  
• Idle gossiping and busy-bodying: house to house, email to email, text to text. Budybodies need to know what everybody's doing and mask it as sincere caring. A woman who is a gossip and busybody is working with Satan. Difference between somebody inviting you in their life and saying they want to have accountable relationship and you barging into their life. {Busybodys are pushy, emotionally manipulative, hyper-spiritual: wants to know everything about everybody, drama queen.} First they try spiritual tactics, "Let's get together, Christian community, pray for you." Second, you decline, they become emotionally manipulative. "Oh I thought we were friends.." Women's Ministry is dangerous if led by the drama queen. Wmen gather to bash on their husbands as "prayer requests." A single woman that says, "I want to marry a paster" is dangerous. They probably desire power, gossip knowledge, authority, center of drama.
• Lies: Satan is the father of lies. Lying is his native tongue. Lies work. People are in bondage to lies and the truth will set you free. Example: Woman believes her husband is doesn't love her, is cheating on her. Not true. Will this affect the marriage? Fo sheezy! A helpful way to combat lies is to write down in a journal all the lies you believe, about others and yourself. Include what you may think are lies. Also, have spouse journal the lies they see you believe. RED FLAG: if you believe something but you would never tell someone that, it's a lie. Believing a lie, feeding it, is a sin. Repent, be free in the truth. (Side note for someone counseling a person dealing with this: Ask enough questions to figure out what lies that person is believing)
• Idolatry: worshiping creation, not Creator. People who commit sexual sin are worshiping the body (creation). The opposite of Christianity is not Atheism, but Idolatry. We are all worshipers, but where do we put it?

-Extraordinary Demonic-(what most people think about when they hear demonic)

• Tormented: Acts 5 talks about being tormented. Hear voices, see demons, taunted by people controlled by demons, physically attacked, bleeding, ongoing health problems.
• False Miracles: other religions have spiritual powers. Some can see, some can heal. Don't believe the spirits, test the spirits. Is this an angel who loves Jesus, or one whoe got kicked out?
• Accusations: conviction of repented sins. Specific or general feeling of guilt. Vain regret. Something keeps coming up. (bitterness and accusations are the two most common attacks) Rom 8:1 "Now no condemnation for those who love God." Holy Spirit convicts us of specific sin so that we can repent. We can't repent of something we didn't know we did wrong. He doesn't just make us feel bad in general. Accusations often happen by hearing it in the third person. Do you have negative self talk? Does it involve the word "you"? Do you always talk to yourself in the third person? Keep a journal of all third person accusations.
• Death: "All who hate me, love death."-God. Goal of Satan is always death. Doesn't care how, if it's long or slow, cheeseburgers or guns.
• False Spirits: do not believe every spirit (again, test the spirits)

Well that wraps it up. That's all the notes I have. Again, this was only one part of the entire teaching, and I haven't seen the next part yet. I would highly recommend you checking out the sermon by Mark Driscoll though. You can get it on iTunes very easily or by going to http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/spiritual-warfare

Tuesdays With God...

So I stole the title from a pretty known book. I've never read said book, or seen the made for TV movie, so this has nothing to do with that. Sorry if you're disappointed. I just needed a title. I wrote this a couple of years ago, and I just found it again recently so I thought I'd share it with you. I know this is kind of cheating, but oh well. Enjoy my cynicism:

i wake up, stretch and then begin to talk to God, who meets me here in the morning. i tell him that i want to serve him today and ask him to speak to me. he starts to open his mouth, as i jump up and grab my clothes to go take a shower. he shakes his head as i walk out of the room. while taking a shower i praise him with songs that pop into my head, focusing on how well i can sing, and how much i like the song. i get out of the shower feeling refreshed and ready to go. “wow that feels good, god thank you.” he starts to reply as i think of what i’m going to do today. “well i don’t have to work. so many possibilities. i could really spend time in his word and then maybe do some prayer walking. or maybe i could hang out with my friends today and see how things are going with their walk. or maybe i should clean my car out. god what do you want me to do?” again he starts to open his mouth right when my phone rings. “hello. oh hey man. yeah i’ll play some disc with you.” the rest of the days a bit of a blur. i ask god to bless a couple of my meals. i talk about him a little bit. but never with him and my friends at the same time. i talk about work and stuff. my friends talk about their life and the decisions their facing. they talk about some things they’ve learned recently. they talk about something they’ve read recently. they talk about things that i cannot even remember because they’re so important. i come home. i’m tired. but i want to spend time with god. that’s the most important thing in my life. that’s all i want out of life. that’s all i want to do in life. so it is very important that i do that. “hey god. that was a good day. i had a lot of fun. you know it’d be great if you could give me some direction about work, and school and life. and there’s this girl and that girl going through my life and i don’t know if you want me to get married or not and who to and if it’s sooner or later. because you know if i get married it will be hard for me to spend this quality time with you like i do. but if i don’t it will be hard for me because i really want to. i’m so torn because it is obvious that all i want is to spend all my time with you and if i get married i don’t know if i can do that. so will you show me what you want me to do? because obviously i want to do what you want because that’s best. oh and there are some people i’d like you to meet. like my friend hank, and george and my coworker francine. they’re really cool people and i really want them to know you because you’re really cool too. and i don’t want them to miss out on this super fun awesome time i’m having just spending with you all the time. and it’d be great if you’d show my family things that you’d like them to do and if you’d just bless them with the cool blessing you give. like a good place to live and a great job and lots of money and a good time and that they’d just be so happy all the time and nothing would go wrong. and if you’d bless our church and make it so that a lot of people come and are there to hear about you and to sing songs that’d be great. and thanks for everything you do for me, like let me play frisbee and drive. and please let me sleep real well tonight and be refreshed for tomorrow so that i can be a witness for you. and thank you jesus for what you did on the cross even though i know it was kinda hard. in jesus name amen. oh and god please speak to me tomorrow and show me what you want from me. thanks.” breathlessly i end my prayer hoping god will speak to me this time. and again he opens his mouth to say something, but i just roll over and start snoring. he sits there and smiles a gentle smile and tells me he loves me. and tells me this life is not the life he wants me to have. he tells me about the far reaches of space as i dream, and of all the angels and what a sight they are. he tells me of his throne and the creatures that surround it praising him constantly. he tells me of the forming of the world from nothing into something so beautiful, but pails in comparison to his beauty. and then jesus tells me about the cross, and how it was hard, and painful but he loves his father so much that he could not even bear with thinking of doing anything else. and he tells me his father loves me so much that he could not even bear of thinking of doing anything else but sacrificing his only son. and he tells me of how he wants me to share in the life he has now and not in the shadow of life that i have. and i snore on and dream. and as god talks to me through the night until sunrise, i sleep soundly. the sun rises. i wake up. and stretch. and god in his faithfulness once again meets me here, or rather is still here from the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that since before time. “hey god, please give me a good day, let me be your tool, and please speak to me.“ he starts to open his mouth as i run to the shower. and so it goes.