Valley of Beracah

Dr. Paul Nyquist

“God desires us, His people, to be zealous for good, yet the reality is that when we are zealous for good, hostility happens.”

“Be strong and stand firm. God is before you. Don’t be afraid!”

“Face hostility with hope. Rest assured, if you do that, someone somewhere saw it.”

Don Sweeting

We have “apologetic moments” all the time. When a child asks why we can’t see God, it’s an apologetic moment. When a person has been influenced by the DeVinci COde, and they ask if Jesus had a wife, it’s an apologetic moment. Are you prepared to give an answer?

Where was God when the trigger was pulled at Columbine? He is right where He was when He sent His Son to die for the sins of this world, that by turning to Him we may have life!

Erwin Lutzer

“The world can out-entertain us, out-finance us, but let it never be said they can out-love us!”

“Will we seek God in desperation or devastation?”

“If you don’t know what to do with your failures, you’ll always be a failure and never rest in the grace of God.”

Jill Briscoe

“He was in my head space.” “Why did you let him in? Why didn’t you use the armor I gave you?” “Oh, I don’t know.” … “You should have said my name. He hates the Name.”

“You learn to let God finish your sentences.”

“There is a right road, although it is a rough road.”

Francis Chan

It’s such a wrestle to be a doer of the Word. We have this “I need to so something” though, but then we get distracted.

Whatever happens, let us NOT let people talk us out of it.

God will do great things for you if you are willing to be lonely and misunderstood. As long as you can keep that—that not minding being lonely—God can use you so much. When you can’t handle being alone, then the kingdom can’t use you.

I wake up selfish every morning. I have to pray, “Lord, make me more like Jesus.”

My motivation for giving is love. I want everything I do to be done out of love.

Loving yourself is the opposite of love. Being obsessed with yourself is the opposite of love.

If Jesus is leading you into the valley of the shadow of death with His road, wouldn’t you kind of want to just go there just to see Him fight?

Mark Bailey

When you forgive, you find that you set the prisoner free…and that prisoner was you.

James Meeks

I wanna kick some Devil’s behind.

George Waddles

How do you see yourself? Go look in the mirror and say to yourself, “I am a woman of God.” or “I am a man of God.” Say it over and over. You talk to you more than anyone else. We believe more of what the world says, than what God says! “I am a child of God. I am of God.” See yourself with a purpose.

Ravi Zacharias

When you do it God’s way, you find satisfaction and that you are fulfilling the very purpose He has created you for.

Everyone is searching for the four absolutes evil (definition of what it is), justice, love, and forgiveness. Do you know there is only one place the four of these converge? On a hill called Calvary.

He wins the contest for us and gives us truth and relevance in our lives.

This Lord who created you gave you the context for your life and calls you by name.

Ravi Zacharias

The Four Gardens of Truth and Relevance

Creation Garden (Garden of Text)

Realities of the sacred relationship between God and Man, Man and Woman, and of Society

God and Man: Vertical Relationship—We were created for a relationship with God. That is the difference between naturalism and Judeo-Christian creation. Sin is a violation of purpose. 

Man and Woman: We were created with some legitimate desires.

There are the three touches. The touch of God to our souls, the touch of a spouse, and the touch of society with other human beings. 

The astronomical evidence supports the Biblical account. Evidence that the universe came to be at one moment. There is a religion in science. Their hearts act when it should be their minds.

There is a scientist climbing up a mountain, thinking that he is the first to climb to the very top. And as he pulls himself over the last rock to get to the top, he finds a band of theologians who have been up there for centuries.

Garden of the context (Temptation in the desert)

Rock into bread: Materialism; Testing God by throwing self down: Utilitarianism; Given the kingdoms of the earth: Heedenism (everything for pleasure)

Be gone! For it is written. 

When you do it God’s way, you find satisfaction and that you are fulfilling the very purpose He has created you for.

Garden of Grief (Garden of Gethsemane)

We don’t want to be speaking with those we agree with, but those who disagree with us.

Search for four absolutes

• Evil-to define what it is
• Justice
• Love
• Forgiveness

Do you know there is only one place the four of these converge? On a hill called Calvary.

The Gospel:

• Shows the evil in your heart and mind
• God in His justice put His wrath on His Son
• Shows love through giving the Son
• And through the giving of the Son we see forgiveness.

“Maybe its time that we in the Islamic world stop asking if Jesus died on the cross and start asking why.”

Garden of Hope (Outside of Jesus’ Tomb)

There was the faith of a simple woman, who goes with courage. Jesus looks at her, and calls her by name. “Mary.”

Relevant in life and relevant in death. And He calls us each by name.

He wins the the contest for us and gives us truth and relevance in our lives.

We are not worshiping only a gardener, but we are worshiping the Lord and Creator.

This God who created you gave you the context for your life and calls you by name.

Mark Bailey

He is a God of grace and truth, not just grace and not just truth.

I can extend grace because He has shown grace to me.

With God all things are possible (Biblical instances of this phrase)

• Abraham and Sarah => Birth of Isaac
• Mary => birth of Jesus
• Rich people getting saved

God didn’t have to initiate grace with me, but He did.

There are rewards to win and rewards to lose from unfaithfulness.

George Waddles

So many people are in worship, but are not in the Word.

When the Word of God hits you, a change takes place.

He [Paul] looks not at what he was, but at what God has made him to be.

It doesn’t matter where you’ve been. It does matter where you’re going.

How do you see yourself? Go look in the mirror and say to yourself “I am a woman of God.” Say it over and over. You talk to you more than anyone else. We believe more of what the world says, than what God says! “I am a child of God. I am of God.” See yourself with a purpose.

It matters how you see yourself.

How do you see your brothers and sisters in Christ? Do you think of them as brothers and sisters in Christ? They may be in a different place, but they are still your siblings in Christ.

Love hurts. You are going to bleed. But it is all to bless.

Practice praying for others, Cause there is something about us that is so self-centered, that it is hard to focus on other people when we are before the Lord.

We need to be careful that the music we sing agrees with the Word. We gotta stay in the Book!

He [Jesus] is more than just someone sitting around, waiting to help us with what we want to do.

When Jesus was seen, so was the Father!

We don’t have to make up what Jesus would do. We can read about it!

Deny yourself = take self out of the picture

He’s [Jesus] more than the head of your life; He’s the head of our lives.

Mark Bailey

Forgiveness is easy until there is something to forgive.

Herod’s annual salary was 900 talents. This guy owed 10,000 talents. This is to make you think big.

• Crazy to think of someone having such deep compassion as to forgive that debt
• And that’s the biggest number in Greek
• Where we get “myriad” from

The Applications of the story of the Unforgiving Servant:

• I have offended God infinitely more than anyone has ever offended me.
• Forgiveness is rooted in compassion
• Forgiveness is an act of the will to extend mercy for the asking.
• An unforgiving heart transforms the offended into the offender.
• The failure to forgive will result in the failure to be forgiven.

When you forgive, you find that you set the prisoner free….and that prisoner was you.

James Meek

What is not being discussed and what is not trendy is the Great Commission. Nobody’s facebooking about soul-winning. Nobody’s flash-mobbing and going soul-winning.

“I think that the Lord’s message to His Church should always be trendy with us.”

He tells us to charge!

Any team that plays defense the whole game will lose. Our Church should not be on the defense. We have to go on the offense. The Great Commission is calling us to.

“I wanna kick some devil’s behind.”

It’s not your Church. It’s Jesus’ Church.

Francis Chan

When we gather we should be more fired up to do things.

When we get older, we try to play it safely and comfortably, when we should be more and more on fire.

Can I take a larger step of faith each year? Do crazier things each year.

God will do great things for you if you are willing to be lonely and misunderstood. As long as you can keep that, that noe minding being lonely, God can use you so much. When you can’t handle being alone, then the kingdom can’t use you.

Why not throw thirty bucks into the offering plate, instead of twenty, and see what happens?

There are things about God that I was embarrassed about. I tried to skip over. And I realized that sin in my life. Our God is a God of wrath. And I’m not embarrassed of that anymore. And God is a God of judgment.

I wake up selfish every morning. I have to pray, “Lord, make me more like Jesus.”

If you really believe that these are your brothers and sisters in Christ, you’ll want to show love.

My motivation for giving is love. I want everything I do to be done out of love.

No matter what type of sacrifice you do, people in the church will find some way to write it off.

Any time you pursue anything Biblically, people will attack you.

This system is set up for us to fall—with pride and sin.

I think about dying all the time.

I sacrifice all the parts of me that like this attention.

Loving yourself is the opposite of love. Being obsessed with yourself is the opposite of love.

Think about God. Think about facing Him. Think about loving others. If I do that, then I will be the most blessed man alive.

Those who are saved will endure, and their lives will also show fruit.

I had to leave the school grounds to really take the step of faith. Step out of this comfort as you are getting trained to go out to the ends of the earth.

I was getting a lot of the Word and not doing it. It deadens you. You’ve got to get out of these walls and do something.

Go into the Valley of the shadow of death, because the Shepherd is there with you. If Jesus is leading you into the valley of the shadow of death with His rod, wouldn’t you kind of want to just go there just to see Him fight?

It’s part of following the Lord. There are some scary times. But those are the times God grows you.

We need the Church to mix with each other. Let’s show the body of Christ! Not have rich churches over there and ghetto churches over here.

There’s a peace in being terrified.

Look at stories of other people around the world and see how small-scale our stuff was. Remember those in prisons as though you were there with them—to pray for them, but also for our own lives.

Look at the courage of other believers and what happened to them.

Think of how our light and momentary struggles have far weightier consequences.