Swipe Right : week 6

Jennie Lusko - Fresh Life Church

Becoming The One

We must be concerned with our own relationship with Christ.

Becoming the one...

1. In the Field

In our single years

Genesis 24:64 The coming together of Isaac & Rebecca.

A lot of prayer & seeking God.

John 4:35

Being in the field means being in the church.

Loving God, loving people.

Tend to your own heart...cultivate a heart and soul that seeks Jesus first.

We need to be careful how we depend on people to fill a need only God can fulfill.

Shalom : peace, harmony, wholeness

Becoming the one...

2. In the Garden

The garden referring to marriage.

Marriage is spelled W-O-R-K

You'll never be right with your mate unless you're right with your Maker.

Some good questions to ask yourself: 

How is my walk with Jesus?

What is it like being married to me? Book by Linda Dillow

Luke 10:27

Ephesians 5:21

Don't get lazy in marriage.

Keep loving, keep cherishing, especially when you don't feel like it!

Becoming the One...

3. In light of His return

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 & 5:1-6

Our King is coming soon!!

They is to be found faithful.

1 Corinthians 4:2

Luke 19

Luke 18:8

Unnecessary Roughness : week 3

Lysa Terkeurst  - guest speaker at Fresh Life

The Rejection Infection

The power of gentleness when unleashed in our lives.

We all have a story.
We all have a story we tell ourselves.

Unnecessary roughness : rejection

Healed people, heal people.

God's words need to be THE words of our story.

Rejection steals the best of who I am by reinforcing the worst that's been said to me.
We have an opportunity to flip that!

1 Samuel 25
Nabal (Hebrew pronunciation : nay-val)
Nabal is mean & rude outside the home (so most likely he is the same or worse at home)
Abigail is his wife. Abigail is described as beautiful and intelligent.

David being picked to be the new king :
Jesse (David's father) didn't even give David a chance at first.
Jesse left David out in the field to tend to the sheep.
Overlooked by everyone else, but hand-picked by God!
God might not be setting you aside, but setting you apart.
Being set apart always requires preparation.

Unnecessary roughness happens to me by me most of the time.

1 Samuel 22:2
The people surrounding David were disgruntled, in debt...what a fun bunch to be around.

David and his men would sleep around Nabal's flocks as a wall of protection.
David felt he had done Nabal a favor so he asked for special food for festival time.
David's men returned and said Nabal had said, "Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse?"
At the name of his father it probably would have stirred up strong emotions.
David probably pulled the pain of his past rejection to his current circumstance.
Compound reaction, not from the situation at hand but from the hurt from the past.

A servant told Abigail that trouble was coming.
Abigail gathered more food than was originally requested.
Abigail didn't tell her husband.
vs 24 Abigail is also brave.
David threatened to kill Naval's whole family.
Abigail still went down on her knees and probably whispered to David so as not to humiliate him.
Abigail knew David was anointed to be king.
Abigail was trying to tell David, "do not let today's reaction be tomorrow's regret!"
Abigail was trying to tell David revenge would do him no good.

Humility opens up the door of opportunity for other's to listen to us.
Pride & disgrace hold hands.
Proverbs tells us humility holds hands with wisdom.
Humility is not a position of weakness, it is a position of great strength.

vs 28 you are on assignment by God. Do not derail this assignment from God because of a distraction.

The enemy wants to steal, kill & destroy.
The devil is vicious but NOT victorious!

God was good then (when you defeated Goliath), and God is good now!

He did it then, He will do it again.
Trace God's hand of faithfulness in our life!

Abigail fought to save the life of her greatest burden (her husband).

God is GREAT at being God!

There is a big difference of thinking a lot about something and praying a lot about something.

1 Samuel 25:42
Abigail becomes David's wife.
In the end it doesn't end in a fairytale, David gets caught up with concubines & has an affair.
But who's story ties up in a neat, nice bow?
Not everyone's story is "happily ever after."

The root of rejection produces rotten fruit.

Rejection hurts. Rejection is painful.

God's love changes everything.

Remind yourself : circumstances & people may not be good to me, but GOD IS GOOD to me.

Our neediness easily turns into greediness.

God's love isn't based on me, God's love is placed on me!

It's impossible to hold up the banner of victim and victory at the same time.

The source of your courage is not your own strength.
You're more courageous than you even know, because God's courage is in you.

Your deepest desperation will be God's biggest declaration.
Relief from your unbelief.
Rejection is not your final destination.

Sorry Not Sorry : week 7

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

Off The Hook

Word for the week : similarly 

Matthew 18:21-35

May our relationships matter too much to be disrupted by our pride. 

Your apology needs : Regret - Responsibility - Remedy 

How to be apologized to...

Peter (Jesus' #1 disciple - even though he made tons of mistakes)

On what basis do you decide to let people off the hook?

Peter asked Jesus how often must you forgive, up to 7 times?

*The sincerity can be tested through your willingness to fight to change!*

If Saul keeps throwing the spear, is there a point I stop forgiving him?

Peter thought he was being gracious. The law said three strikes and you're out. So Peter thought by doubling the law and adding another he was being gracious...7 times?

Jesus said 70x7! Jesus did not mean 490 times, he meant, forgiveness should be endless...

Less math, more love!

Love doesn't keep a record of wrongs.

Jesus told a parable to show this 70x7.

We are supposed to approach others similarly as to how Jesus approaches us when we ask Him to forgive us.

Forgiveness flows from the cross.

Your forgiveness is not about you, it's about Jesus!

Colossians 2:14 God wiped out our debts.

If you've been freely forgiven, then you ought to freely forgive.

Develop the ability to win and lose well. Win and lose with a gracious spirit. 

Apologize properly, and be apologized to properly.

1. You're never more like God than when you forgive.

#1 goal should be : be a better little Christ

God is a forgiver - Psalm 103:8

When we are forgiving, slow to anger, abounding in mercy there is glory in that!

Proverbs 19:11

We have been given the responsibility to reflect and respond and give God the glory.

2. Don't hold out for a perfect apology.

Knowledge is power and we must not hold people to the standard we hold ourselves to.

Don't be quick to judge others apologies.

Call yourself out on your own failures.

Give more grace to others than you do for yourself.

There is room to meekly say why don't we hold on a couple days.

Don't put a bandaid on a bullet wound...

Make sure your tone and body language are humble.

Humility is attractive, pride is repulsive, and a little grace goes a long way.

Before you completely write them off with all of their but, but, but... can you find small things to encourage...at least they are here and apologizing. It may not be perfect, but they are allowing a little vulnerability.

3. Don't keep them dangling.

If you're going to let them off the hook, let them off the hook.

When you tell someone "will you forgive me?" you are giving them power over you.

QUIT SAYING THESE THINGS IN RESPONSE: 

a. don't worry about it. b. it's okay. c. oh that was nothing. d. didn't hurt my feelings at all. e. you don't need to apologize for that. f. forget about it.

Don't sweep it under the rug.

Don't dismiss their feelings as invalid.

SAY THIS instead : "I accept your apology." and "I forgive you."

That does NOT terminate consequences.

4. You don't have to accept apologies that aren't given.

Nobody can be forgiven against their will.

When Sorry Isn't Enough by Gary Chapman

You must ask forgiveness to be forgiven.

5. When you let go of grudges it releases God's grace.

Just because they haven't said 'I'm sorry' doesn't mean you have to let it become a root of bitterness.

Don't foster resentment.

You can be willing to extend forgiveness to someone who hasn't given an apology.

To love the unlovable, or those who have harmed you is to be Christ-like.

You don't have to develop a wounded spirit or a victim mentality. 

You don't have to be defined by what has been done to you.

Your identity isn't from your pain, it's from God's pleasure.

You can be free, free indeed, in Jesus Name! 

6. If you are stingy with forgiveness it hurts you in the end.

The man who didn't forgive was tortured/tormented.

A spirit of generosity & graciousness can help you.

Look to the cross!

"Forgive us our debts, God, as (similarly/like) we forgive our debtors."

God casts our sins to the depths of the ocean - as far as east is to west.

Don't keep lists of wrongdoings.

We can cut ourselves off from the benefit of salvation.

If you want grace, you have to give grace!

Come clean. Ownership. No more! Forgiveness. Ego. Straight-away. Similarly. 

Confess!!

Confession isn't only meant to be toward God, but also to one-another. 

So often we stop at confessing to God.

Healing takes place in our relationships if we're willing to confess our sins to the ones we've sinned against.

May by the grace of God can we find healing.

Swipe Right : week 5

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

Magic Beans and the In-Betweens

Galatians 6:9

Judges 16:19

We can prevent and treat sexual scars by living carefully today.

Live right in God's sight.

An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure.

Hurting with Hope still hurts.

It's always better to do things God's way.

There is Hope for you!

vs 22 but before long his hair began to grow back.

Max Lucado:

You'll get through this.

It won't be painless.

It won't be quick.

But God will use this mess for good.

Don't be foolish or naive.

But don't despair either.

With God's help, you'll get through this.

1. Seeds Start Small

Faith can transform something tiny and turn it into something massive.

Little things can become big for both good and evil.

Cath the little foxes.

The devil isn't playing checkers, he's playing chess.

Don't despise the days of small things.

Plant something because it has the potential to grow.

Victory comes to those who can see past the seed.

2. Seeds Grow Slow

There are no magic beans, just in-betweens.

Remain faithful in-between results.

Faithfulness to do something good over time. 

God wants to cultivate patience & endurance.

Bruno Mars : success is being dedicated to a craft, spending thousands of hours getting it right, fighting to get better and better and better!

Trust the process of walking with Jesus.

Careful living of every day.

3. Seeds Sprout Out

It will be worth it!

Don't give up!

Fight today for the future God has for you.

Isaiah 60:22 in it's time I will do it swiftly.

Progress isn't always visible. 

Sorry Not Sorry : week 6

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

Too Late To Apologize?

Luke 15
the prodigal son
Word or phrase for the week : STRAIGHT AWAY

2 Corinthians 7:10
Godly sorry leads to repentance.

Genesis 4 : sin is crouching at the door of your life.
God said you must rule over it, so it can't rule over you!!

Be the master over your sin.

A common put-down to Jesus was : He's friends of sinners.
To Jesus that was a great compliment.

Jesus is like a doctor. He hangs out with the sick and those in need of healing.

Vs 17 "Then he came to himself."

Restore honor & respect!

The prodigal son's money ran out. A famine happened in the land. He reached out to his "friends" but they ignored him.

When you come to yourself, your go to your Father.

When you sin it's easier to sin than to come back to your Father.

The prodigal son's dad rushed to him to be a shield for his shame.

God sent Jesus to be a shield for our shame!

Jesus doesn't want you to work for Him, He wants relationship with You!

The prodigal son that left didn't hide his sin. The older brother is a prodigal son that hid his sin.

1. It's never too late to do the right thing.
Jesus chose to make this so over the top to demonstrate that there's no one so far gone that they can't be saved. He's a Restorer, a Healer, a Forgiver, a great Physician! God can make a way where there is no way! You bring that first brick to rebuild the bridge.
2. Value the relationship being right above being right.
We always want to be the hero. Quit with the self-defense.
3. It's hip to be square, but don't stop there.
Remedy must involve restitution. Are we good now? Not until you restore what's lost. Luke 19:8 sacrificially demonstrating the penance of his sin.
4. Make sure your apology gets to the right place.
He's apologized to Jesus & his dad. But don't over apologize, some things are better left between you & God.
5. There might not be a tomorrow.
Straight away without delay.
It's never too late to apologize, as long as it's still today.
Hebrews 3:13
"...lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."
Ephesians 4:26-27
"...anger gives a foothold to the devil."
You're not promised tomorrow.
Be very quick to apologize.

Sorry Not Sorry : week 5

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

Big Head, High Horse, Tight Pants

Luke 18:9
Word for the week : EGO

Face your failures and learn from your mistakes.

The biggest hurdle in apologies : pride!

The presence of pride will poison your apology.
Humility is the best friend to the apology.

We're looking at a parable.

Backstory:
Jesus & the disciples are there.
There were people that trusted in themselves that thought they were righteous.
They thought people who weren't as 'holy' as they were didn't matter at all.

God wanted to convict who he was talking to about their own pride.
In a roundabout way Jesus liked to take your sin and put it on someone else so you could see what it looks like.
Looking at two men : a Pharisee and Tax Collector

The Tax Collector : "O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner."

God calls us to love God & love others.

Why was one man's apology good & the other's not?

1. Half-apologies only make things worse.

"If you're going to bow, bow low." Chinese proverb
If it's worth doing at all, it's worth doing with all your heart!
If you're going to apologize, apologize fully.

Proverbs 30:12 "They are pure in their own eyes, but they are filthy and unwashed."

2. Pride is poison.

The only way to be fixed, is to be broken.

Mercy is where God gives you what you don't deserve.
I wish You would make a way where there is no way.

Psalm 51

He who humbles himself will be exalted.

Humility is the lifeblood of the apology.

You can't bow low if you're stuck up.

3. Body language matters.
65% of communication is body language
Prepare your body language.
For the pharisee his body language revealed he thought he deserved greatness and thought he was righteous.

4. Don't make your apology all about you.
The apologies heart beats for the offended.
Sympathy can become an enemy of your apology.
The point is for the offender to be clear whose pain matters.
Little things make big differences.

5. Focusing on yourself leads to despair.
A man full of pride & it lead to nothing good.
The man who focused on God went home forgiven.
An apology without an apology can't be accepted.

The difference between Judas and Peter's apologies :
Judas was sorry - he tried to give the money back. But then he was so full of pride and despair that he hung himself.
Peter was sorry - he wept bitterly. Then in John 21 : Peter was out fishing. "Cast your nets on the right side of the boat." John says to Peter, "That's Jesus." So Peter puts on his coat (doesn't even make sense, but that's okay his focus was Jesus), jumps out of the boat and swims to shore (the boat beat him there - but that's okay, because his focus was Jesus and only Jesus).
Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.
Lean into Jesus' forgiveness and thank Him for it.

Swipe Right : week 4

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

Worth Fighting For

Exodus 17

Proverbs 18:22

Moses is headed to the Promise Land.

From this day forward...

Where there is power God commands strength.

Where there is unity God provides blessing.

Jesus is meant to be the center.

Song of Solomon 2:15

The enemy likes to sow seeds.

Nip these things in the bud.

You need to fight FOR your relationship not just fight IN your relationship.

Moses was up on the hill praying over the battle. He was raising the rod of God. A picture of worship, a picture of surrender.

Sword drawn like Joshua.

Both praying & practical.

Arms raised & sword drawn.

Faith should lead to actions.

Strategy dealing with conflict.
Conflict is not optional.
The enemy opposes anything God starts.

1. Keep a cool head

Limit the things that get your blood boiling.

Sin makes you stupid.

2. Build your life on the rock.

Honor. Honor up, honor down, honor all around.

Doy ou life with the right people.

Swipe Right : week 3

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

The Things We Carry
1 Corinthians 6:16-17

Being saved doesn't happen once you learn to behave.
It's possible to be a believer and still be a hot mess.

There's more to sex than skin on skin.
Scars mean sex.

THREE lies about sex :

1. Sex is just a physical activity
Guard your heart with all diligence.
What you do with your body impacts your whole life.

2. I can do what I want and have what God wants
Wanting the best of both worlds.
You lug what you load.
Galatians 6:5 "shoulder your own pack."
You have to live with the decisions you make.
Galatians 6:7
We can't outlive our decisions.
You cannot sow sin and reap blessing.
You cannot sow death and reap life.
Proverbs 6:28 you can't walk on hot coals and not get blisters.

3. I've already messed up so there's no Hope for me
You can't change your past, but you can give God your present.
Hebrews 4:16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.


God isn't calling you to perfection, but to progress.

Sorry Not Sorry : week 4

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

Face The Music

Psalm 51

Week 4 word or phrase : Forgiveness

When you apologize you can't just throw a grenade like, "I'm sorry."

You must ask, "will you forgive me?"

That gives the power back to the person you're asking forgiveness from.

This Psalm that David wrote was written 20 years after Saul's death.

It's the time of year when the king goes to battle. David was the king, and he did not go out to battle.

David liked to take a lot of naps. So David was sleeping.

David was primed for disaster to strike.

This is where he sees Bathsheba bathing.

He couldn't help that he saw this, but the problem was that he gazed. 

Success has destroyed people that suffering has made stronger.

David's strength was he was passionate. David's weakness was that he was passionate. 

Bathsheba is pregnant.

Uriah is called home, in hopes that he will sleep with his wife and think the child is his.

Uriah refuses to go home. He slept on David's porch.

David decides to get Uriah drunk.

Uriah sleeps on the porch again.

David decides to have Uriah killed. 

Uriah carries his own note of execution to Joab. 

Joab sends Uriah and a team on the mission and they're all killed.

David marries Bathsheba. 

David thinks he's gotten away with what he did.

"The thing that David did displeased the Lord."

Your life can be a success on earth but a failure in Heaven at the same time.

Nathan is telling a story about a lamb being slaughtered.

David was a shepherd so this story made him upset.

David said, "the man shall surely die."

Nathan said, "you are the man."

David realized what Nathan was saying and said, "I have sinned."

He fully owned what he had done. 

There was no trace of blame being shifted.

Responsibility, regret, remedy : it was all there - Psalm 51

Psalm 32 was written after Psalm 51 

Four takeaway truths : 

1. Apologizing can be costly, but it's even more expensive not to.

There are consequences.

There's embarrassment.

There's a taking off of your mask.

We resist the urge to apologize to save face.

The price tag to not apologize is spendy.

"When I held this all in, my bones grew old." David

There is a physical cost to holding sin in.

The majority of doctor's visits are stress related.

There is an emotional toll of refusing to apologize.

Spiritually there is a cost.

It's better to have egg on your face than a kink in your soul.

2.  To see things clearly try your sorry on someone else.

Nathan knew there was a deceitfulness to sin.

We are really good at self-deception.

If we were to see it on someone else, wouldn't it look uglier?

Imagine someone else saying your apology to you.

When it comes out of us, we give ourselves a lot of slack.

3. Your past will haunt you until you let Jesus put it behind you.

David said, "my sin is always before me."

The only way to have a clean heart is to have a bent knee.

Ask God to forgive you & He will forgive you. 

Instead of running from our sin we must run to the One who can forgive us.

4. God wants to turn your sin into a song!

God can use your sin to bless others.

Your story can help others to not make the same mistakes!

God can turn your mistake into a melody.

Sorry Not Sorry : week 3

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

Stick A Needle In Your Eye

Week 3 word or phrase : NO MORE!

*cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye*
Verify your sincerity.
To say you're really telling the truth.

We learn from the story of Saul and David that the true test of a sincere apology is the attention we give to the remedy.

Sincerity.
When we say sorry, are we sincere?

1 Samuel 18:6

Saul became very jealous of David.

Saul is trying to kill David.
Jonathan tries to talk his dad down.
Saul said he was trying to kill David for Jonathan (so Jonathan could become king).
David hides with the priests, Saul killed them.
David hid in caves for 10 years.
20 years between God giving him the dream of being king and David actually becoming king.

Will you hold onto a dream even when it seems impossible?

Finally Saul found where David was as he was backed into a cave.
Saul had to go to the restroom and decided to use the cave David was hiding in.
David cut off a part of Saul's robe and said, I could have killed you but I didn't.

Nothing is ever wasted, it's all preparation!

God puts to use what he puts us through!

Saul spent the better part of his life fighting the wrong enemy.
He thought David was his enemy, but Saul was his own worst enemy.

NO MORE!
When it comes to saying sorry, the acid of sincerity is change.
Do you live differently afterward?

1. If there's no follow through it will be déjà vu.
There can be no remedy without a 180!
Go and sin no more!
NO MORE!

2.  You can't guarantee perfect but you can give radical attention.
Change is a process.
Your heart has to be NO MORE! But you can't guarantee that.
You will give radical attention that you won't do it again.
Attention = special care.
If you don't get crazy with your sin, your sin will get crazy with you.

3. Don't just show it, you've gotta say it.
Don't make a promise you can't keep.
I want to change instead of I will change.

4. Behavior modification is powerless without heart transformation.
We focus on the outside when the inside is where the real problem is at.
Behavior is the fruit, your heart is your root.
True heart change is hating what you've done & hating what it's done to who you've hurt.

As it is in saying sorry, so it is with salvation.

Swipe Right : week 2

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

The Point Of No Return

Hebrews 12:16-17

Watch out for the Esau syndrome : trading away a lifelong gift, in order to satisfy a short-term appetite.

God can make a way, when there is no way!
The word impossible is not in God's vocabulary.

In Genesis 25
Esau traded his birthright for a bowl of soup.

The enemy has a pot of soup simmering for you.
Offered to you at just the right time : when you're worn down, stressed out, feeling unloved, etc.

You don't want what the devil's got in his crock-pot!
He's slow-cooking the death of your calling.

1. Your desires can keep you from your destiny!
Feeling good is NOT the highest good.
The temporary can keep us from the eternal.
The enemy doesn't want us to enjoy the marriage that God has planned for us.

2. When your stomach is empty your standards are lower!
When you're hungry you are more susceptible to make bad choices.
If you're unclear about your calling you'll put a lower value on your self.
Know your worth.
Jesus always spoke, "it is written."
Knowing God's words will help you to not want to sin.
God's word says. God's word says.
Before you go out, hide scripture in your heart!

I am chosen! I am loved! I am called! I am equipped!
My Father in Heaven loves me!

Difference between forgiveness & consequences!
God would much rather be blessing you.

Don't let your spiritual stomach get empty.

3. In all you do think follow through!
Learn to slow down & make wise choices.
Eternal life = death is not the end in the road, it's a bend in the road.
Think about the impact your actions will have on your family tree.
Look Up, live Up.
Seek a calling on your life.
Now yells louder, later lasts longer.
Think of the later.
Instant gratification will keep you back from ultimate satisfaction!

Your entire life can change in just a moment of time.

No one can un-eat the soup you've eaten.

It's better to do things God's way.
He's not trying to keep you from fun, He's keeping you from regret.

Your consequences remain, but God can restore & bless you if you choose to allow Him.

Sorry Not Sorry : week 2

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

Find Your Spine

Cain (Adam's son) committed murder, and hid what he did. 

Repentance is one of the most important things you can teach your children.

Positive example of an apology in the life of Judah.

Genesis 44:16-34

It takes courage to apologize.

When you lift something heavy, you should lift with your legs and not your back.

But God asks you to "put your back into it."

NO MORE COWARDLY APOLOGIES

Word for week 2: Ownership

If you don't own your failures, they will own you!

Backstory:

22 years before

Judah and 10 of his brothers were outside in the field.

Benjamin was a boy in the house.

Joseph was tied up, bound and gagged in a pit - the brothers decided to murder him and it was all Judah's idea.

Joseph had been the favorite, his dad gave him the coat of many colors.

Judah then has a change of heart...can't kill him, sell him into slavery.
Took the coat, dipped in animal's blood, and took the coat to their father.

13 years go by

Pick up your cross & follow me.

If you're willing to lose your life for His sake, you'll find true Life!

Keep your heart pure.

When opportunities increase, so will opposition.

If God has great things for you, you better be training for the trial you're not yet in.

After the Dove comes the devil.

After revelation comes tribulation!

Joseph goes to prison and isn't claiming, "I'm an innocent man!" 

He asks the prison guard what he can do to make his life easier/better. 

God isn't looking for ability, He's looking for availability. 

He starts interpreting dreams.

He then interprets Pharaoh's dreams.

Then he's able to help his family that sold him into slavery when the famine comes.

When you're plagued with guilt it sucks the joy right out of you.

When your conscience is guilty you see God's blessings as burdens.
When you're guilty your vision is clouded with suspicion.

Reuben said, you can kill my sons if we don't bring Benjamin back.
Judah 'found his spine' and said, blame me if Benjamin doesn't come back.

vs 16
God has found out the inequity of your servants.

Walk in forgiveness, don't wallow in it!