Breaking Free Session One Viewer Guide

A few things we need to know about yokes and how they can be shattered based on the example of "Miden's Defeat.

1. The blessed people of God can live under great oppression.
The goal of the oppressor is to make us...
*Unproductive (vv.3-4)Hebrew shahat: ruin...corrupt...lose...spill...waste." In the KJV terminology, the oppressors destroyed the increase."
*Impoverished (v.6)Hebrew dalal: "bring low, dry up, be emptied, not be equal, fail, be impoverished."

2. If we don't seek freedom, we will seek shelter (v.2 and glance ahead to v.11).

3. God stands to get much glory from making might warriors out of the least likely.

4. Whatever we may end up setting on the alter will be holy received by God.

5. The purpose of this journey is not to kill us but to bring us to the full measure of abundant life He promised us (v. 23).

Matthew 6:25-34

Jesus Teaches About Worry

For many years I spent endless number of hours worrying about EVERYTHING. Not kidding...if I had a stomach ache I expected to visit our local doctor and be told I had cancer. It was immobilizing, horrible, life altering and very real to me. I didn't understand it but I knew it was my reality. BUT was it really reality??? Obviously not but until I knew what it felt like to live a part from it I didn't know any other way to live. This was until somewhere in my college years that I began to see glimmers of hope in living free of constant worry. I can't put an exact date or time to it but I know that's when God began to really do a work in me. Showing me verse like "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring it's own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today" and "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" Both of these incredible encouraging verses come out of Matthew 6.
Here are some of the explanations taken from my NIV Life Application bible on Chapter 6:25-34:
-Because of the ill effects of worry, Jesus tells us not to worry about those needs that God promises to supply. Worry may (1) damage your health, (2) disrupt your productivity, (3) negatively affect the way you treat others, and (4) reduce your ability to trust in God. How many ill effects of worry are you experiencing? Here is the difference between worry and genuine concern-worry immobilizes, but concern moves you to action.
-To "seek the Kingdom of God above all else" means to put God first in your life, to fill your thoughts with his desires, to take his character for your pattern, and to serve and obey him in everything. What is really important to you? People, objects, goals, and other desires all compete for priority. Any of these can quickly become most important to you if you don't actively choose to give God first place in every area of your life.
-Planning for tomorrow is time well spent; worrying about tomorrow is time wasted. Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference. Careful planning is thinking ahead about goals, steps, and schedules, and trusting in God's guidance. When done well, planning can help alleviate worry. Worriers, by contrast, are consumed by fear and find it difficult to trust God. They let their plans interfere with their relationship with God. Don't let worries about tomorrow affect your relationship with God today.
All of this at one point in time or another rained priority in my life...NOT trusting God. I was completely filled with fear about everything. I made myself sick a lot, had panic attacks, would scream and yell at family including my husband on a plane full of passengers...you'll have to ask him about that one. I felt like I had no control which looking back I think is what scared me even more. God's incredible and very specific words on worrying have brought me through a lot. I love him so much for providing it. He's so good to each of us, knows the struggles in our lives and provides such specific actions and encourage for us. In fact, did you know that He knew "fear" was going to be such a stronghold for His people that it is mentioned in the bible 364 times...that's right. You could do a year long devotional about fear using one verse a day. God is so loving!

Matthew 6 - Lord's Prayer

I've always known the Lord's Prayer but don't believe I really knew what it meant or why I said it. As I was walking through the pages of Chapter 6 of Matthew, he writes a great deal about the Lord's Prayer and answer the question of what and why. I've been using the Life Application Bible as we study the book of Matthew and I would like to share with you some of the insite it provides into this very important prayer that Jesus used to teach his disciples. Below is taken directly from the NIV Life Application bible: Verses 9-13
"Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one."
-This is often called the Lord's Prayer because Jesus gave it to the disciples as a model for them (and us) to keep in mind as we pray. Jesus provided a pattern to be imitated as well as duplicated. We should praise God, pray for his work in the world, pray for our daily needs and pray for help in our daily struggles. To what extent do you use the items in the Lord's Prayer to guide your own prayer times?
-Verse 9:The phrase "Our Father in heaven" indicated that God is not only majestic and holy but also personal and loving. The first line of this model prayer is a statement of praise and a commitment to hallow, or honor, God's holy name. We can honor God's name by being careful to use it respectfully. If we use God's name lightly, we aren't remembering God's holiness.
-Verse 10:The phrase "May your Kingdom come soon" is a reference to God's spiritual reign, not Israel's freedom from Rome. God's Kingdom was announced in the covenant with Abraham (8:11, Luke 13:28), is present in Christ's reign in believer's hearts (Luke 17:21), and will be complete when all evil is destroyed and God establishes the new heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1).
-Verse 10:When we pray "May your will be done," we are not resigning ourselves to fate but praying that God's perfect purpose will be accomplished in this world as well as in the next. And how does God accomplish his will on earth? He does it largely through people willing to obey him. This part of the prayer allows us to guide, lead and give us the means to accomplish his purposes.
-Verse 11:When we pray "Give us today the food we need," we are acknowledging that God is our sustainer and provider. It is a misconception to think that we provide for our needs ourselves. We must trust God daily to provide what he knows we need.
-Verse 13:God sometimes allows us to be tested by temptation. As disciples, we should pray to be delivered from these trying times and for deliverance from Satan ("the evil one") and his deceit. All Christians struggle with temptation. Sometimes it is so subtle that we don't even realize what is happening to us. God has promised that he won't allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). Ask God to help you recognize temptation and to give you strength to overcome it and choose God's way instead.
-Verses 14, 15:Jesus gives a stratling warning about forgiveness: If we refuse to forgive others, God will also refuse to forgive us. Why? Because when we don't forgive others, we are denying our common ground as sinners in need of God's forgiveness. God's forgiveness of sin is not the direct result of our forgiving others, but it is based on our realizing what forgiveness means (see Ephesians 4:32). It is easy to ask God for forgiveness but difficult to grant it to others. Whenever we ask God to forgive us for sin, we should ask, Have I forgiven the people who have wronged me?

Carrying Out God's Requirements

A little bit from chapter 3 in Matthew...
"But Jesus said, "It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires." So John agreed to baptize him (Jesus)." Verse 15
-John had been explaining that Jesus' baptism would be much greater than his, when suddenly Jesus came to him and asked to be baptized. John felt unqualified. Do you ever feel unqualified when Jesus calls us to call something? John wanted Jesus to baptize him. Why did Jesus ask to be baptized? It was not for repentance for sin because Jesus never sinned. "We must carry out all that God requires" refers to accomplishing God's mission. Jesus saw his baptism as advancing God's work. Jesus was baptized because (1) he was confessing sin on behalf of the nation, as Nehemiah, Ezra, Moses and Daniel had done; (2) he was showing support for what John was doing; (3) he was inaugurating his public ministry; (4) he was identifying with the penitent people of God, not with the critical Pharisees who were only watching. Jesus, the perfect man, didn't need baptism for sin, but he accepted baptism in obedient service to the Father, and God showed his approval.
-Put yourself in John's shoes. Your work is going well, people are taking notice, everything is growing. But you know that the purpose of your work is to prepare the people for Jesus (John 1:35-37). Then Jesus arrives, and his coming tests your integrity. Will you be able to turn your followers over to him? John passed the tests by publicly baptizing Jesus. Soon he would say, "He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less" (John 3:30). Can we, like John, put our egos and profitable work aside in order to point others to Jesus? Are we willing to lose some of our status so that everyone will benefit?

Book of Matthew

As the motorcade slowly winds through the city, thousands pack the sidewalks hoping to catch a glimpse. Marching bands with great fanfare announce the arrival, and protective agents scan the crowd and run alongside the limousine. Pomp, ceremony and protocol-modern symbols of position and evidence of importance-herald the arrival of a head of state. Whether they are leaders by birth or election, we honor and respect them.
The Jews waited for a leader who had been promised centuries before by prophets. They believed that this leader-the Messiah ("anointed one")-would rescue them from their Roman oppressors and establish a new kingdom. As their king, he would rule the world with justice. Many Jews, however, overlooked prophesies that also spoke of this king as a suffering servant who would be rejected and killed. It is no wonder, then that few recognized Jesus as the Messiah. How could this humble carpenter's son from Nazareth be their king? But Jesus was and is the King of all the earth!
Matthew was one of Jesus' 12 disciples. Once he was a despised tax collector, but his life was changed by this man from Galilee. Matthew wrote this Gospel to his fellow Jews to prove that Jesus is the Messiah and to explain God's Kingdom.
Matthew begins his account by giving Jesus' genealogy. He then tells of Jesus' birth and early years, including the family's escape to Egypt from the murderous Herod and their return to Nazareth. Following Jesus' baptism by John (3:16, 17) and his defeat of Satan in the wilderness, Jesus began his public ministry by calling his first disciples and giving the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7). Matthew shows Christ's authority by reporting his miracles of healing the sick and the demon possessed, and even raising the dead.
Despite opposition from the Pharisees and others in the religious establishment (chapters 12-15), Jesus continued to teach concerning the Kingdom of Heaven (chapters 16-20). During this time, Jesus spoke with his disciples about his imminent death and resurrection (16:21) and revealed his true identity to Peter, James and John (17:1-5). Near the end of his ministry, Jesus entered Jerusalem in a triumphant procession (21:1-11). But soon opposition mounted, and Jesus knew that his death was near. So he taught his disciples about the future-what they could expect before his return (chapter 24) and how to live until then (chapter 25).
In Matthew's finale (chapters 26-28), he focuses on Jesus' final days on earth-the Last Supper, his prayer in Gethsemane, the betrayal by Judas, the flight of the disciples, Peter's denial, the trails before Caiaphas and Pilate, Jesus' final words on the cross, and his burial in a borrowed tomb. But the story does not end there, for the Messiah rose from the dead-conquering death and then telling his followers to continue his work by making disciples in all nations.
As you read this Gospel, listen to Matthew's clear message: Jesus is the Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of lords. Celebrate his victory over evil and death, and make Jesus the Lord of your life.

A Walk Through The Gospels

This Sunday February 7th we will begin our "Walk Through The Gospels" beginning with the book of Matthew. We will meet from 8a.m. to 9a.m. at LifePointe. The hour together will be a time for us to go back to the original source of God's Word and guidance. We will meet the first Sunday of every month. We are going to start with the gospels and work from there. During the month between each meeting, it will be a time for each of us to read, pray, research and journal over each book we are currently reading. There will be no specific study guide but I'd love for each of us to be journaling during this time so that we can all remember what we are learning and being shown.
This Sunday we will begin our journey through the book of Matthew. Below is some statistics and insight into Matthew.

• Purpose: To prove that Jesus is the Messiah, the eternal King
• Author: Matthew (Levi)
• Original Audience: Matthew wrote especially to the Jews.
• Setting: Matthew was a Jewish tax collector who became one of Jesus' disciples. This Gospel forms the connecting link between the Old and New Testaments because of it's emphasis on the fulfillment of prophecy.
• Key Verse: "Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose." (5:17)
• Key People: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, the disciples, the religious leaders, Caiaphas, Pilate, Mary Magdalene
• Key Places: Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Capernaum, Galilee, Judea
• Special Features: Matthew is filled with messianic language ("Son of David" is used throughout) and Old Testament references (53 quotes and 76 other references). This Gospel was not written as a chronological account; it's purpose was to present the clear evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior.

In Matthew's finale (chapters 26-28), he focuses on Jesus' final days on earth-the Last Supper, his prayer in Gethsemane, the betrayal by Judas, the flight of the disciples, Peter's denial, the trials before Caiaphas and Pilate, Jesus' final words on the cross, and his burial in a borrowed tomb. But the story does not end there, for the Messiah rose from the dead-conquering death and then telling his followers to continue his work by making disciples in all nations.
As you read this Gospel, listen to Matthew's clear message; Jesus is the Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, Celebrate his victory over evil and death, and make Jesus the Lord of your life.