Monthly Archives: January 2022

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes – Ephesians 6:18-20

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes: Ephesians 6:18-20

(PRT)

v. 18 And through every kind of prayer and petition, keep praying in the Spirit in every season and opportune time so that you will stay vigilant and persist in seeking God’s answers for all who are set apart for God everywhere. v. 19 And pray for me that I might be given the right words coupled with a boldness to make understandable what remains hidden about the Good News. v. 20 It’s this very Good News that I’m an ambassador bound by a chain so pray that, through it, I might be bold as I have opportunity to speak.

Study Notes:

v. 18 And through every kind of prayer and petition, keep praying in the Spirit in every season and opportune time so that you will stay vigilant and persist in seeking God’s answers for all who are set apart for God everywhere.

Every kind of prayer, every season, and every opportune “kiaros” moment that comes our way. Temptation. Decision-making. Relationship issue. Enemies and friends.

Philippians reminds us that prayer and petition are the solution to worrying and anxiety.

Three kinds of prayer that get me through. 1) Blurt it out, 2) Settle in, 3) Pass it around.

Pray in the Spirit – 2 Cor.

This plea from an ambassador in a chain calls us to the battle to pray, to stand firm, and to bring peace.  This upside-down kingdom maintains that the battle will continue as we fight for the Good News of the Prince of Peace to win.

This passage is directly connected to v. 15. Keep praying as you keep your feet ready with the truth of the Gospel. We move forward with armor and with dependence on the captain.

Romans 8. In the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the empowerer, the revealer, and the giver of words when we don’t know what to pray. Holy Spirit praying is the answer to spiritual lethargy.

Relate this to the parable in Luke 18 where we ought not lose heart but pray. The ungodly judge and the persistent petitioner.

It’s about the mission. That no matter what we are going through Jesus is represented well and the Good News of the Kingdom will be seen and heard.

v. 19 And pray for me that I might be given the right words coupled with a boldness to make understandable what remains hidden about the Good News.

The words “for me” could easily be “over me” – we cover a person’s life in prayer so that their life counts, the words matter, and others see Jesus revealed in their words and actions.

You praying is the significant other side of the success of any endeavor. Pray and do. Pray and speak. Pray and take ground for the kingdom.

Like a gift that is wrapped, that others might open, understand, and receive that Good News that God offers. Rom 1:16 It is the power of God.

The right words aren’t accidental. Let your words be seasoned. Your prayers aren’t accidental. They come from a heart of longing for the Father’s will and a deep desire to see the Good News of the Kingdom win. Neither are our words to our friends and family. As they are underpinned by the prayers you pray and the requests that others pick up to pray.

Mt 10 – Jesus reminds us that the Spirit will give us the words when we are dependent on Him.

v. 20 It’s this very Good News that I’m an ambassador bound by a chain so pray that, through it, I might be bold as I have opportunity to speak.

My circumstances don’t dictate the message. For opportunity, for the right words, and boldness to follow through.

The irony of an ambassador in chains, an envoy bound.

The appeal here is that God, today, will open a new opportunity for which the boldness I received yesterday will  not be sufficient. We need the boldness that today’s demands require. It will be new, an adventure to step into, and a challenge to face in His strength.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes: Matthew 7:7-11

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

Matthew 7:7-11 (NLT)

7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

Mt. 7:7-11 Diligently ask and it will be given to you; seek with a longing to discover and you will find; knock on the door, and that door will be opened to you. 8 For with certainty, everyone who keeps asking, receives; the one who keep seeking, finds; and to the one who keeps knocking, it will be opened. 9 Consider this comparison: which of you, if your child asked for bread, would give him a brick or stone? 10 Or even, if he asked for a fish to eat, would give him a snake? 11 Since therefore you, being sinful and uncaring, know what a good gift looks like, and you give these to your own children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him. (PRT – Pastor Rick’s Translation)

Mt. 7:7 Diligently ask and it will be given to you; seek with a longing to discover and you will find; knock on the door, and that door will be opened to you.

Or, in reverse of action and results:

You will get what you need for those of you who diligently keep asking; you will discover and find what God has in store for you for those of you who keep on seeking; and that door for relationship and provision will be opened for you who keep on knocking.

Ask for, crave, desire, call for and it will be given, supplied, entrusted to you. Seek, seek after, strive for, crave, seek with the expectation of finding, seek with longing to know and worship and you will find, return to the place, understand.  Knock, rap on the door or gate and that gate will be opened, opened fully to you.

Could this be the first verse of Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ unspoken question following the previous teaching? How do we keep from becoming judgmental? And how do we remove the huge sin in our lives so we can help others? How do we discern between giving precious spiritual truth to those who will honor it, instead of those who will toss it into the pig pen?

Easy, prayer changes us. Keep on pressing in to your relationship to Jesus. If the Father opens your eyes to sin in your life, bring it to him. If you find yourself stuck trying to share God’s goodness with one who dishonors it, pray and seek God’ freedom.

7:8 For with certainty, everyone who keeps asking, receives; the one who keep seeking, finds; and to the one who keeps knocking, it will be opened.

For, because, for indeed. Everyone asking receives, takes as one’s own, ; seeking finds; knocking it’s open fully. Pray and, in faith expect God’s gracious provision.

Read this in reverse for emphasis as this is cause/effect. The one who receives God’s answers is the one who keeps on asking; the one who find God’s treasure is the one who keeps on seeking; the one who experiences God’s Presence, who enters into the relationship eternally is the one who keeps on knocking.

The “keep on” tense is both continuous and leads to a greater expression of the action. If I am praying a little now and keep praying a little more, God will honor this and take me deeper into him. Conversely, if I pray just a little now and back off, I will fall into judgmentalism or lack of discernment.

Knocking at the Father’s door for provision, relationship is juxtaposed with Rev 3:20 where the Father is knocking at the door of those in Laodicea who were unrepentant and lukewarm. The Father initiates the knocking and we repent and open the door for salvation; and for the rest of our lives we grow by asking, seeking and knocking.

7:9 Consider this comparison: which of you, if your child asked for bread, would give him a brick or stone?

Which, then, is of you out of or from.  Jesus gives a comparison or juxtaposition. He is saying consider this from your own perspective. Will a Father give his son a brick or rock when he wants bread? The first word in the verse is translated “or” and makes this a comparative statement.

7:10 Or even, if he asked for a fish to eat, would give him a snake?

The comparative conjunction begins this, too.  The snake and fish comparison hints at follower of Jesus or enticed by the evil one. The point of these two verses: the hunger of your kid demands a proper response just like the spiritual hunger inside each of us receives the proper response from the Father.

The “me” in both juxtapositions assumes a negative answer. In no way would a father give his hungry kid a brick or a scorpion.

7:11 Since therefore you, being sinful and uncaring, know what a good gift looks like, and you give these to your own children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him.

You, who by nature, from the inside, act badly, do evil, are corrupt and guilty. The comparison is of God the Father who perfectly chooses goodness and compassion toward his children and me (or you) you imperfect, not good, guilty of choosing badly, evil. Both come out of the heart, out of the inner nature.

If we are evil, even in our best days, compared to God who lacks no good characteristic, we are reminded that we need him.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes: 2 Corinthians 4:1-12

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

2 Corinthians 4:1-12 (The Message)

1-2Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.

3-4If our Message is obscure to anyone, it’s not because we’re holding back in any way. No, it’s because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won’t have to bother believing a Truth they can’t see. They’re stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we’ll ever get.

5-6Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

7-12If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!

Heaven’s Treasure in Earthenware Jars

v. 1 Therefore reflects back to God pouring his mercy out on us. He has met us and He is changing us.

2 Cor 3:16-18Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

v. 2 We have renounced, walked away from, deceit, manipulation, bait and switch.

 We don’t use the Gospel for our own benefit. We don’t use it dishonestly or shameful. We don’t manipulate with the truth. We persuade. We defend. We convince. But not in ways that violate another’s will or integrity. That’s the way of the enemy. We don’t violate another’s conscience.

There are those who would use whatever means they have at their disposal, including the truth of the Good News, to get their own way and acquire influence, resources, or selfish desires. We serve and give away what we are and have to show God’s love and truth; and we share in a convincing way that in Jesus we find mercy and hope.

v. 3 The Good News, like the glory of God, is hidden behind the enemy’s cloak; because those in the shadows participate in the cloaking by refusing truth. Acts 4:12 – there is no other name by which we must be delivered.

v. 4 The god of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the devil, the usurping ruler of this world, has designs on men and women. He is real. In the meantime…we stand, we fight, we pray, we stay the course.

We stand firmly in the light and do the works and speak the words of light and hope so that the light will clear the fog, the darkness from others.

“The god of this world.” Better, the god of this age. Jesus came at the right time to invade the coup of the enemy who sought to cast darkness over all this world. It truly is a battleground and the blow struck at the birth of Jesus and his death and resurrection is the fatal blow to the enemy’s. In the meantime…we stand, we fight, we pray, we stay the course.

We stand firmly in the light and do the works and speak the words of light and hope so that the light will clear the fog, the darkness from others. We don’t faint or give in to fear or evil.

Light of the glorious gospel of Christ is the result of His light – what he does through us. He is the Light, but we are carriers of this light. The light is here, but the blinding is as if the dawn isn’t visible.

v. 5 It is His Good News given to us to share; not our good news that we make up.

Slaves is the word here. Not slaves of Jesus, but willing bondslaves to his purposes and to those who need Jesus. We live a life of inconvenience. We stretch ourselves to share the light, even when it costs.

  1. Enthroned at the right hand of the Father.
  2. Enthroned in the hearts of these clay pots.
  3. Returning as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

v. 6 God said “light” when he created it all. God sent “light” to redeem and restore that very creation that had too long rejected the light and chose shadow.

God, who is invisible, has become visible in Jesus. Fully. Without shadow. And we live to make Him visible to others as he is reflected in our relationships, our finances, our workplace, our studies, our time management.

v. 7 Earthenware Jars – what you see is not what God is doing on the inside. What you get is better than what you see. The ultimate top shelf experience. The upgrade unexpected. We say yes to Jesus and the journey is far more than we saw on the brochure. You and I are jars made of clay, scarred, smudged, broken handled, but we contain the beauty of God’s work in our lives. Who wouldn’t want this Good News?

The jar would be sealed to keep the treasure fresh.

The jar would be hidden to keep the treasure safe.

Romans 9:20. Can the clay jar say to the potter, what were you doing making me like this?

Matthew 14 and the treasure in the fields. But we choose to crack open the jar and spill it out on others. Like Jesus and the woman with the ointment who spilled it out on Jesus’ feet, we spill out this treasure every day.

  • Veracity/Truth – Can the pottery say to the potter, what do you think you are doing? God is doing a good work in you.

v. 8-9 Troubled by what we cannot avoid, but able to standup. At the end of our mental ability to control and change but trusting in such a way that we don’t fall into hopelessness. In the battle and bruised, but not dead and destroyed.

Pressed down is squeezed. Like the olives for oil or the grapes for wine. The pressing doesn’t destroy but squeezes us.

Paul had been left for dead more than once. The list is even longer with Hebrews 11.

v. 10 The hostility to God’s goodness remains today. And we stand firm against the hostility. We don’t get sidetracked by small minded conspiracies or detours that don’t matter to the kingdom; we live in the battle and continue to do good and, by doing so, destroy the works of the enemy.

v. 11 Delivered to death – we are the people who value what God values, and this means we live the Philippians 2 lifestyle.

v.12 For I am crucified in Christ. I deny myself, pick up the cross daily.

Illustration: The person who bought the field to get the treasury.