I love to sit under Danny’s teaching! So many powerful questions to ponder this week….

Culture is everything – Luke 6:45

Jesus said if you have seen me you have seen the Father. The same is true of us. What we believe of the Father will show to the people we encounter. – Wow.

Productivity requires cultivation – cultivate your heart and mind because that is where your life flows from.

Creating who we are – Attitude “What are you doing on purpose?”

Do you control yourself or do things control you?

Knowing your true identity is vital – True Idenity is Free & Powerful, think of how you want your children to be, your slave? your servant? Or a free and powerful individual completing their destiny? How much more our Father God?

It is vital to be courageous to give courage to others. Do I give or take courage?

As a Christian I am to be famous for my love for others

Give courage directly and indirectly

Bring life with my words

Set people up for success by

- stirring up faith, share what God is doing and has done

- Kill the fear of man Am I risking enough to lead others to success?

- Practice – Practice – Practice

Remember it’s not all about me:) I am only a very small part of something much bigger. Individual relationships matter to the whole. Dishonor is the biggest threat to having a Kingdom of Heaven culture.

Cycle of Dishonor requires a “victim”, having a victim requires a “bad guy”, victims are rescued so there are “rescuers” who go after the bad guys.

There are no victim is Heaven. Victims are powerless and not responsible for anything. Jesus was not a victim, he chose to lay his life down. We are to empower not rescue. Partnering with the lie of powerlessness is the biggest mistake a Christian makes. Helping someone else partner with a lie of their powerlessness is devastating.

Ask “What are you going to do?” It implies they have power and responsibility.

When someone comes with a problem (gossip, looking for sympathy) with another person ask, “Are you going to tell them or do you want me to tell them about your problem with them?” – I’m thinking most readily of using this with tattling children

Do not wallow in offense Danny had just been on a moose hunt and learned about wallows first hand. Amazing what a truly accurate analogy it is. A moose urinates in the dirt and then paws it into mud, then rolls in it and amazingly it attracts moose for mating…. So do not take the waste of your past relationships and mix it with the dirt of your feelings and cover yourself in it trying to attract partners in your offense.

Offense is a decision point if you partner with offense you sacrifice your freedom, you are no longer free around the person you allowed yourself to be offended with or you can seek relationship.

John 8:15 tells us Jesus did not come to judge – He didn’t leave us here to judge either!

Withdrawing love from a relationship is always a mistake.

Revival – bring life to something that is dying

I am blessed to sit under wonderful men of God in my local church. I am blessed every time I sit under their teaching. I always take notes, but don't always review them like I would like. This category will be a place for me to record my thoughts as I review my notes from Sunday. They are my thoughts on the message. If I do direct quotes I will do my best to give credit. I pray the lessons I learned will bless you as well.

Sunday, September 11, 2011 Pastor Paul

John 14:15 "if you love me, keep my commandments."

Our motivation for a godly life comes as a response to the love of God shown to us, ultimately, in Jesus sacrificial death.

Love is the motivation. Law is the tutor. Consequences are not for motivation, though they are needed and useful.

Loving Jesus is not enough to carry out what he said in this verse. We have to know the commands to follow them. 

Just obeying without loving is fruitless. We end up with religious activity rather than a relationship of true discipleship. 

Show up with Jesus everywhere you go.

Jesus commands bring life to us when we obey them.

We love in response to God's love. We lose love when we lose our focus on God's love for us.

Learn to move into relationship, how to connect - with God and people.