New Work Fellowship Podcast

The Power Pivot (04/26/20)

Getting Through the Going Through

The Power Pivot

Acts 1:12-26

This is the Time:

To Get your Heart connected to the Father — Pray

Luke 11:1, “Lord, teach us to pray…”

v14, “They all met together and were constantly united in prayer…”

 Constantly united together =  “fierce” + “together”.

Prayer is more like a wartime walkie talkie than a domestic intercom system. God is the general in the command center giving orders and directions. He is not a butler in the servant quarters awaiting your call to bring you another pillow for your comfort in the den.

To Get your Heart connected to Jesus—Partnership

Who is Matthias?

 To Get your Heart connected to the Spirit—Promptings

v24, “Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen…”

 “When God permits you to be stripped of everything to do with your exterior life and work, He desires that you enhance the activities of your interior.” - Oswald Chambers

After Easter: What Now? (04/19/20)

After Easter: What Now?

Anticipation

Acts 1:4-11

 How to walk through this time of anticipation:

1) Recognize the authority of Christ. (vs. 4-5)

a. It is good to recognize the authority of Christ by being obedient to His commands while at the same time resting in the promises of God.

 2) Live in the presence of Christ. (vs. 6-8)

a. When you face a limitation, know that there is also a freedom that exists because of that limitation.

3) Join God in His work. (vs. 9-11)

 a. Don’t get stuck.

Scattered At Easter (04/12/20)

Scattered at Easter

Luke 24:13-34

 “That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus…sadness written across their faces.” - Luke 24:13, 17

 

Resurrection Story Takeaways… 

1) Jesus is always nearer than you think.

v 15, As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them.

Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted; and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

2) Jesus hasn’t missed a thing.

v27, “Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

Isaiah 55:8-9, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

3) Jesus will go with you; just ask.

v 29, “…they begged him, “Stay the night with us…” So he went home with them…”

4) Jesus provides all and more that you need.

v 30, “As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them.”

5) Jesus points us toward community.

v33, “And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem…”

 Final Thought: Jesus walked out of the grave, so you can too! Why don’t you follow him, today?

There Is A Future (04/05/20)

In the Waiting

There is a Future

Jeremiah 32:1-15

 

How we see our future determines what fills our hearts and minds.  If you see your future as uncertain because of circumstances, your heart and mind will follow.  If you see your future as certain in Christ, your heart and mind will follow Him. 

 So how do we follow?  Be patient, listen to God, and watch what he does.

 Jeremiah 32:1-15

• It was the worst of times. (vs. 1-5)
• Acknowledge where you are.
• What are my current circumstances?

 

• It was not the end of time. (vs. 6-8)
• Make a plan.
• When this is over, who does Christ want me to be?

 

• It was the time to shine. (vs. 9-12)
• Take action.
• What can I do now to follow Christ?

 

• All the time, be patient. (vs. 13-15)
• Stay in it!
• What will I do when I face an obstacle?

 Discussion Starter Questions:

• What resonated with you today?
• How can you follow Christ through this time?

Invest in Today (03/29/20)

 In The Waiting

“Invest in Today”

Jeremiah 29:1-14

 

How do I Invest in Today?

1. Bloom Where you are Planted

v5-6, “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away!”

2. Invest in your Nest

v5-6, “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away!”

3. Carefully, Listen to God’s Word

v8-10, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord. This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.”    

4. Trust God’s plans when yours are disrupted

v10b-11, “I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

 Proverbs 16:9, “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.”

 Philippians 4:8-9, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

5. Know Jesus

v12-14, “In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”

 John 3:16, For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Discussion starters:

1. What resonated with you? What is your take away from this message today?
2. How can you care for others? What can you do today to make a difference for someone else?

Waiting Work (03/15/20)

In the Waiting

“Waiting Work”

1 Samuel 16 and 2 Samuel 5

 

What is your Waiting Work?

1) Be FAITHFUL in the LITTLE things

2) Be COURAGEOUS in the TOUGH things

See 1 Samuel 17:17-18.

2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

3) Be PRESENT in the ETERNAL things

See Psalm 57

• “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” (Psalm 23)
• “O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens…When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the starts you set in place—what are mere mortals that you think about them?” (Psalm 8)
• “Have mercy on me, O God, because­ of your unfailing love… Against you and you alone, have I sinned…Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back the joy again…”  (Psalm 51)

4) Be PATIENT in the TEMPTING things

Ecclesiastes 7:8, “Patience is better than pride.”

See 1 Samuel 13:13-14

5) Be HUMBLE in the GOOD things

See 1 Samuel 22:1-2

6) Be TRUSTING in the UNKNOWN things

Final Thought: "Yet those who WAIT for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.” (Isaiah 40:31)

 Do your WAITING WORK WELL.

Waiting...together (03/08/20)

In The Waiting

Wait… together.

Luke 24:49 & Acts 1:4-7

 

What is God doing in the waiting? (Luke 24:49 & Acts 1:4-7)

• Gathering His people. (Acts 2:1)
• Deepening His people. (Acts 2:42-46)
• Drawing new believers. (Acts 2:47)

 What should you do in the waiting?

• Gather in worship to remember. (Hebrews 10:25)
  • We KNOW
• Gather to rest in His word. (Hebrews 4:9-12)
  • We GROW
• Develop a rhythm of following Christ. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
  • We GO

 Final Thought: “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think.  No, he is being patient for your sake.  He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” 2 Peter 3:9

Are We There Yet? (03/01/20)

In the Waiting

“Are we there yet?”

Exodus 13:17f-14:4

 "I will rescue. I will bring you out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey

 In the Waiting…

1. REMEMBER; you are GOING

Acts 17:26 (ERV), “[God] made all the different people who live everywhere in the world. He decided exactly when and where they would live.”

TRUTH TO GRAB: God is never ON OUR TIME, but God is ALWAYS RIGHT ON TIME.

2. FOCUS; on the GROWING 

See Exodus 13:17b-18a.

2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

 TRUTH TO GRAB: God is not nearly as concerned with where we are going as who we will be when we get there.

 James 1:2-4, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

 2 Peter 1:5-8, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

3. RELENTLESSLY PURSUE; the KNOWING

Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God!”

 TRUTH TO GRAB: You can’t really know God if you are always on the move.

 Isaiah 30:18,“So the Lord must wait for you to come to Him so He can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for His help.”  

Final Thought: When you WAIT on the Lord, your WAITING season is never a WASTED season.

Suffering Through Loss (02/23/20)

“Collapse: Finding God at the end of me”

“Suffering through Loss”

Job 1 (page 304) and Lamentations 3:19-20, 28-33 (page 488)

“People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.” (Job 5:7)

“How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble!” (Job 14:1)

 “Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” CS Lewis

 See James 1:2-5 (page 735)

 Key Thought: Learn to add suffering to the plus column.

 How do we Suffer Well?

1. PRACTICE with the LESSER TRIALS

2. NAME your GREATER Trials

Job 7:11, “I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. My bitter soul must complain.”

Job 3:25-26, “What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true. I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes.”

 Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

 3. FIGHT through all YOUR TRIALS

 (See Job 1:8-12)

Ephesians 6:10-12, “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

4. TRUST GOD in every TRIAL

Job 23:8-12, “I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I look to the south, but he is concealed. “But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food.”

 (See Isaiah 55:8-9, 53:3-5)

 1 Peter 2:21, “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.”

Key Thought: You do not choose your suffering. You only choose how you will suffer. Choose to go through it WITH JESUS.

Depression (02/16/20)

Collapse: Finding God at the end of me

“Depression”

Lamentations 3 and 1 Kings 19:1-12

 

 “…filled with depression and fear”. 1 Samuel 16:14

 “…my life seeps away. Depression haunts my days.” Job 30:16

 “Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don’t turn away from me, or I will die.” Psalms 143:7

 

How can you fight depression?

 

(1) See the Warning Signs

 Beware when you ISOLATE v3, “Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.”

                                                      v4a, “Then he went on alone into the wilderness…”

Beware when you FUEL FEAR.  v3a, “Elijah was afraid and fled for his life.”

Beware when FATIGUED. v4, “Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said.”

 (2) Seek SHELTER: “JUST ENOUGH”

V4a, “Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree…”

Just Enough: REST

Just Enough: HELP

2 Corinthians 7:6, “But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus.”

Just Enough: GOD.

Matthew 11:28-29, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Lamentations 3:21-24, “Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

 Final Thought: When the night closes in, don’t give up—leave just enough room for God to show up and set you free.