Rock & Soul : week 4

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

Courageous Living, Even When You're Scared to Death

"The waiting is never wasted! He is in the waiting!" Jennie Lusko

Psalm 23:4

Life is full of valley's.

Put faith in Psalm 23:4 even and especially when you're scared to death!

1. His Plan

Eventually every wrong would be made right.

What's God's plan in your valley? To bring you through it!

Don't get comfortable in your valley.

You're just passing through.

Proverbs 4:18

Keep moving forward!

No pain, no sickness is permanent.

Death is not the end of the road, it's a bend in the road.

Keep moving.

Make the best of it.

Beauty to be found in the valley.

Find purpose in your valley.

There may be people there that you're supposed to bring hope to.

2. His Presence

His presence gives us permission to not live in fear.

The reason I don't have to dwell in fear is because I am never alone.

When you're hurting don't just talk about God - talk TO God!

I WILL fear no evil!

Quit paying for tomorrow's problems with today's peace!

3. His Power

Your rod - authority

Your staff - leadership 

Together = power

4. His Precedent

C.S. Lewis "It's hardly complimentary to God that we should chose Him as an alternative to hell: yet even this He accepts."

How gracious & how good is our God!

Are you ready to die?

Collection of old church notes

*I came across an old notebook that had bits and pieces of sermons. Here they are...*

Marriage :
Leaving (run to each other)
Cleaving (joined together)
Weaving (becoming one living lives together)

Fear of the Lord is living in awe of Him and being scared of hurting Him.

Do things in Thanksgiving!

Love = sacrifice

Arrows :
Any blessing can feel like a burden because they're both heavy.
Pray Deuteronomy 28:13 over your children!
"If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom."
You are the head & not the tail!
You are a leader & not a follower!
Teach your children everything they need to know :
Who God is
Right from wrong
Difficult decisions
Uncomfortable topics (sex)

You don't have to tell kids to have an imagination.
The world is supposed to be a playground.

Rock & Soul : week 3

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

The Shepherd of Your Bad Days

Psalm 23:3

What does God think of us?

What is God's reaction toward us when we "stray from the path?"

David had some very high highs and very low lows.

God is not just the Shepherd of my good days.

It's great to have a Shepherd when you're not doing great!

God is great because...

1. Our Shepherd pursues us!

Because we wander.

We all go astray.

"O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be!Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,Bind my wandering heart to Thee.Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,Prone to leave the God I love;Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,Seal it for Thy courts above."

Robert Robinson

Luke 15:4

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!"

JOYFULLY

Jeremiah 3:22a

“My wayward children,” says the Lord, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.”

2. Our Shepherd renews us!

Because His heart is to make us stronger!

"He brings my soul back - He restores my soul."

Excerpt from F.B. Meyer quote on Psalm 23

3. Our Shepherd leads us!

Because He wants to take us to right places.

Paths of righteousness...something better.

How does Jesus lead? Always from the front.

John 10:4 "After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice." 

We need to get good at listening to the sound of His voice.

We read His word.

We can't listen in chaos when we don't listen during the calm.

4. Our Shepherd includes us!

In something bigger!

What's one sheep at the end of the day?

What can we as individuals ultimately do?

When one sheep strays they don't think of the impact on the whole flock.

For HIS NAME's sake!

The Shepherd marks His sheep.

Stick together!

Sheep are a part of a flock!

Stick together it will keep you from wandering.

Romans 12:1-21

"Behave Like A Christian"

A Living Sacrifice to God

1And so, dear brothers and sisters, Greek brothers. I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Or This is your spiritual worship; or This is your reasonable service.  
2Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

3Because of the privilege and authority Or Because of the grace; compare 1:5. God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Or by the faith God has given you; or by the standard of our God-given faith.  4Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

6In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

9Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10Love each other with genuine affection, Greek with brotherly love. and take delight in honoring each other. 11Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Or but serve the Lord with a zealous spirit; or but let the Spirit excite you as you serve the Lord.  12Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

14Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

17Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

19Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;

I will pay them back,” Deut 32:35.

says the lord.

20Instead, 

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.

If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap

burning coals of shame on their heads.” Prov 25:21-22.

21Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Rock & Soul : week 2

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

Sheep & Sleep

Psalm 23:2

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

Counting People

1. You need rest

A sheep has got to sleep.

Rest is essential in all areas.

You need physical rest.

When you're rested physically you're better suited to face the world spiritually.

Ecclesiastes 10:10 "Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That's the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed."

Isaiah 30:15 "This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: "Only in returning to Me and resting in Me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it.""

2. You need food and water

A sheep has got to eat.

You have to take in if you're going to grow well.

Jeremiah 15:16 "When I discovered Your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear Your name."

Take in God's word!

By the time you feel thirsty it's too late.

God is the Living Water!

Jeremiah 2:13 "For My people have done two evil things : They have abandoned Me--the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!"

Spiritual thirst : misdiagnosed as boredom.

Drink the RIGHT water!

3. You are being prepared

Maybe we're going into a valley.

Where we're going I'm going to need rest & God's word.

God is doing things for things that are to come.

God doesn't just see your current needs, He sees your coming needs.

4. Your rest and your replenishment must be made possible

You can't make a sheep lie down unless they're free from :

hunger

bugs

predators

tension within the flock!

God makes it possible for me to lie down!

Quit counting people before going to bed!

Rock & Soul : week 1

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

Upon This Rock

Psalm 23 written by David.

Rock & Soul series // Outer stability that comes from inner tranquility. 

God wants you to have a sense of stability in life.

[In regards to Psalm 23] "It is as sweet to the child as it is perplexing to the scholar." Adrian Rogers

Louie Giglio calls Psalm 23 "the soundtrack of victory."

VS 1 "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

Everyone has a shepherd.

Your shepherd is whatever you build your life on.

_________ is my shepherd. 

1. Identity

When you know who He is, you discover who you are.

When the Lord is your shepherd you are a sheep.

Life isn't about seeking who you are, it's about finding out who Your Shepherd is.

Find your identity by seeking Him.

Lord : I am. The One who is, who was, and is to come. 

Whatever you feel like you're not, God says to you, I am!

What you're not, He is! What you can't, He can!

2. Ownership

We are owned by Him.

Sheep don't have a leader, they have an owner.

Sheep are property. 

God purchased me by the blood of the cross.

Because we belong to Him, we always belong with Him.

We are never a burden to Jesus.

God has a vested interest in us because we are a purchased property.

3. Contentment

There is such power in contentment.

There is such power in knowing God is our full supply.

It doesn't mean you'll always have what you want.

It doesn't mean you'll want what you have.

What it does mean is you have what you need.

A blessing becomes a burden when you get it out of season.

In God's good timing, He'll provide.

If you have a burden that you don't want, God wants to redeem it.

I will have no want! God's going to take care of me!

Hebrews 13:6 "The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?"

Easter Weekend : All-Or-Nothing

Levi Lusko - Fresh Life Church

All-Or-Nothing

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

All of Christianity reduced to two sentences.

IF THERE IS NO GOD :

1. THERE IS NO HOPE

Paul tells us clearly in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

2. THERE IS NO MEANING

What you do, doesn't even matter

3. YOU AREN'T REALLY EVEN YOU

1 Corinthians 15:32 "And what value was there in fighting wild beasts--those people of Ephesus--if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, "Let's feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!"

Leo Tolstoy "Is there any meaning in my life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy?"

4. OUR DEEPEST DESIRES MAKE NO SENSE

Why do we think things are unfair if there is no God"

"A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line." C.S. Lewis

1.0 HOPE HAS A NAME!!

2.0 EVERYTHING MATTERS!!

3.0 YOU WILL NEVER NOT BE YOU!!

4.0 EVERY ACHE HAS AN ANSWER!!