Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson
2018-04
Episodes
Sunday Apr 22, 2018
Character In Focus, Part One
Sunday Apr 22, 2018
Sunday Apr 22, 2018
“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely...” ~ Proverbs 10:9
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” ~ John 17:17
Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
1 Tim 3:14 ...I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Webster’s Character defined: Mental, moral and spiritual qualities distinctive to an individual, strength and originality in a person's nature, a person's good reputation
Greek Definition “dokimē:” Approved, tried character, a specimen of tried worth, proved through affliction,
Abraham Lincoln said, “Reputation is the shadow. Character is the tree.“
The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith. ~ Billy Graham
Monday Apr 16, 2018
Release The Greater One Within You
Monday Apr 16, 2018
Monday Apr 16, 2018
Release the Greater One Within You
(Audio clip from "Troy" movie. @2004 Warner Brothers Pictures)
1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.
Philemon1:4 I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, 5 hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, 6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. 7 For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.
The greater one within you is your new creation nature in Christ. He is the “greater” one who is greater and more powerful than the world! Realizing “every good thing” inside of you is a key to effective faith.
Paul knew he could count on Philemon. More than almost everything else, we want God and people to have confidence in us.
Philemon1:21 Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
Who is “Them” in John 4:4?
In explaining the ways of God, John often contrasted the concept of the world and God. The world, as we have seen before, is human nature apart from, and in opposition to, God.
The man whose source is God will welcome the truth; the man whose source is the world will reject it.
How can a man whose motivation is competition even begin to understand an whose motivation is service?
A man can hear only what he has fitted himself to hear and he can utterly unfit himself to hear the Christian message.
Paul’s greater one was awakened
Philippians 4:12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Three perspectives to unleash the greater one within you:
1. Confidence in God.
2. A strong sense of purpose.
3. A made up mind.
Unleashing the greater one requires resolving inward conflicts. This is essential for your progress. Paul described his inner conflict shared his resolution. Your deliverance is in your decision.
In the Bible the word “law” has one of three meanings: 1) The Law of Moses: 10 commandments and do’s and don’ts. 2) A principles or reality like the “law of gravity” 3) Grace empower word of God (“law of God”).
Romans 7:14 For we know that the law [of Moses] is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law [of Moses] that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law [principle], that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law [principle] in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin [principle] which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
You can have confidence without arrogance
Arrogance: Having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities. Behaving as if you are better or more important than other people
“I can do all things....”
Confidence: Belief in one's God-given ability to succeed.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Arrogance undermines confidence because it is not based on God’s ability, but in our ability alone. Self-righteousness is arrogance. Arrogance does not unleash the giant. It unleashes a little guy with a big head.
Sunday Apr 08, 2018
True Worship in Spirit & Truth: Understanding Tithes & Offerings
Sunday Apr 08, 2018
Sunday Apr 08, 2018
John 4:23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24] God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Deuteronomy 26:9 He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, "a land flowing with milk and honey"; 10] and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me.' Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God. 11] So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the LORD your God has given to you and your house.
A. Worship is an all encompassing, all inclusive experience. It is both spiritual and physical; temporal and eternal. It involves the total person, spirit, soul, body and even our possessions.
We must challenge ourselves to worship God in fullness and in the release of everything to Him.
It is human nature to worship according to our own preferences and pleasures—like the Samaritan woman. However, the problem with such worship is that it is unbalanced and conveniently neglects that part of worship which is undesirable.
God requires that we worship Him at two levels at all times: “In Spirit” and “In Truth.”
“In Spirit” addresses the supernatural dimension of our walk with God and the transcendent nature of His presence
“In Truth” addresses the practical, everyday actions we engage in obedience to the Truth. Jesus said, “Your Word is Truth.”
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (“your act of spiritual worship” -NIV).
The Worship / Stewardship Connection
B. True worship involves the presenting of our tithes and offerings to God. We often treat offerings as an intrusion into the service. In reality, it is integral to our worship experience.
1. In giving of our tithes and offerings, we engage in a sacrificial act that shows our submission to God’s order.
The bringing of tithes and offerings has always been a part of the worship experience of God’s people.
When we worship “In truth” then will we bring God our bodies and our substance.
The fact that we pay tithes and give offerings is the proof of his submission to God.
When the “Majii” or “wise men” came to worship Jesus after his birth, they brought sacrificial gifts. It would not have been true worship if they brought nothing.
Remember, that if you have nothing to give, He accepts your willingness as an offering.
Worship is a sacrifice. Every true sacrifice is costly and often uncomfortable.
Worshipping God with the tithe and offering was established before the Law as the indication of Abram’s recognition of God’s provision. Genesis 14:18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19] And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20] And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all.”
Sunday Apr 01, 2018
Jesus Resurrection Grace & Light: This Changed Everything!
Sunday Apr 01, 2018
Sunday Apr 01, 2018
Colossians 3:1, If you then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Jesus resurrection changed everything. All of us have heard about the resurrection of Christ, but I wonder If we appreciate how powerful, pervasive, and precious it actually is. Sometimes, we become more fully aware of greater things in life. Let me share some examples and illustrate the scope and power of Jesus resurrection with an parable from the science of light.