Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson

Out of Comfort Zone...Into the Blessing Zone

Out of the Comfort Zone, Into the Blessing Zone
1 John 3:18 "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
Colossians 3:23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
I want to encourage us today. We are into something that is actually rare among churches today. We are doing something around Christian-time that is very odd.
That rare something is actually ministering to people outside the walls of our church building.
That odd thing about Christmas is that we are making Christmas about Jesus.
Remember the term "Comfort Zone?" We used to talk about staying out of Comfort Zones, because it was a place of operating below God's best and outside our highest purpose. The best way I know to get out of a Comfort Zone, and into the middle of God's will, is to pray then go serve and help people through love.
In the Bible, we see Jesus operating outside of Comfort Zones, praying and ministering to people in all kinds of places. As a matter of fact, if Jesus had stayed in His Comfort Zone, we could never have been saved! If someone did not leave their Comfort Zone to talk to me about Christ, I would not be saved and serving God in ministry for 30+ years!
Don’t underestimate the impact of popular culture and religious mindsets. Even Jesus dealt with it.
Mark 7:1, Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. 2 Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.
5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” 6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men —the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.” 9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.
The Pharisees were the standard bearers of the religious culture of their day. The started out defending the Word of God, but in time began to substitute their traditions for the Word of God.
Today, we’ve substituted church service for serving God. Listen, this is NOT service. This is a church meeting. This is our time to gather for worship, celebration, community, learning, fellowship, and blessing. What we call the “church service,” but this is not where we fully serve God.
However, today in church culture, the church service is where nearly everything happens, especially on Sunday morning. We’ve trained people to totally focus all their preparation, efforts, training, rehearsals, prayers, and serving on the Sunday church service, because that is the pinnacle of our service to God. The problem is, this is not something we find in the Bible. It is not something we see in the ministry of Jesus Christ, or in Books of Acts, or something taught in the epistles.
We think that every problem can be solved by an anointed sermon and laying of hands...at church.
While in Africa, I spoke with the pastor who operates the orphanage that we visited. This brother runs an excellent ministry for children who have been abandoned by or have lost their parents. We met a brother and sister they had recently taken in, who saw the father kill their mother and then kill himself. I asked about how he organizes if orphanage and gets sponsorship for children. He works with people around the world, including the USA. I asked how many sponsors are African American. He said, “none.” There has never been a black person or church to sponsor one of his children.
I thought to myself, “I understand that.” In our culture, we don’t do outreach. We don’t do missions. We don’t sponsor orphans. The only we do, by in large, is have church. We too busy trying to add blessing to our blessing.
We can easily think of many examples of how moving out of a Comfort Zone positively impacted our lives, or the lives of others.
2 Corinthians 4:5 (NLT) You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.
Serving advances God’s Kingdom

5 Life-Altering Benefits of Giving Thanks

Giving Thanks is the container that allows us to hold blessings, benefits and responsibilities
If a store gave you the gift of a 30 minute shopping spree, you don’t want use a little shopping basket. Get the biggest shopping cart they have.
Eph. 5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. [Giving Thanks] 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.[c]

Let Your Seasons Sing | Patricia Hudson

Isaiah 55:12 For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Go Join Yourself to The Chariot

Acts 8: 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”

From Emptiness to Fullness: "Let Down Your Nets"

Jesus: The Turnaround Specialist
Part, 4 - Turning Emptiness into Fulness
Luke 5:1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. 4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
There is a greater purpose for us in the plan of God than we have realized. The unfolding of this purpose awaits a Challenge of Faith to awaken it. We need a rhema word from God to issue that challenge. In the midst of the challenge, we need to look for the larger purpose of God. Once it is found, we must give ourselves completely to it _ since it will become our destiny.
PDF of notes: http://www.newcovenant.org/mp3/Emptiness_to_Fullness.pdf

Jesus' Fullness, Grace for Grace | Wednesday Bible Study 10-16-13

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:14-17)

Developing The Faith Habit

Jesus the Turnaround Specialist
Developing the Faith Habit
Jesus came to turnaround everything that Adam and sin had broken. God created mankind and the whole earth to serve Him. Adam and Eve where created to have fellowship with God and to order their environment for His glory and for their family blessing.
Jesus wants to turnaround New Covenant Church, which is us. Today, I will show you how He will do it. Here’s a spoiler, it won’t happen without you. The body edifies itself in love.
Everything that we’ve done well was a collective act of faith. Getting things done does not require every member to have faith, but it always requires a majority. We are always like a row boat where some are rowing and some or not. The row boat can move with some people rowing, but it won’t go fast when a majority of people are content to sit in the boat, but not row.
Sin brought a curse and got Adam and Eve expelled from the Garden of Eden. Mankind has been expelled from blessing until Jesus, the Last Adam, came. Since Jesus came, we have been in a made of “restoration” and turnaround.
Matt 17:14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.”18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief;[d] for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Jesus wants to use us to turnaround sickness, disease, and bad conditions in the lives of people and circumstances, but it takes faith to get things done. We need consistent faith. We need faith with corresponding action (works), to get things done. Faith without works is dead, being alone
James 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?[make a difference] 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things [do nothing] which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
The devil believes in God, but he is not in the habit of obeying and following God.
Faith is not a mysterious force. Faith is habit. Faith is believing and acting on God’s word all the time. Faith speaks and believes, but it also provides what is needed.
The habit of faith requires singular focus:
Romans 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them.
We cannot operate in corporate faith without agreement. We cannot have agreement with divided focus. We must “magnify” the ministry we are serving. We don’t magnify people. We honor people and magnify the ministry.

Higher Thoughts Higher Ways

Higher Thoughts. Higher Ways.
Part 1, Pleasing God and Maximizing Your Life
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.”
Hebrews 11:6, But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
As people of faith, we must often do things that are "counter-intuitive," meaning that we don't think, respond, act as we feel, or do what is usual (2 Corinthians 5:7). We should become comfortable with doing opposite of “conventional" or worldly wisdom. Like pilots who must learn the necessity of flying by instruments, rather than by their physical senses and emotions.
Counter-intuitive acts of faith include:
• Become exalted by humbling oneself
• Give away, gain more
• Being still to know what to do
• In everything giving thanks
• Love those who hate you
• Do good for those who do not treat you well
• Serve people who have less than yourself
• Rejoice when persecuted
and more.....
Aviation is a good illustration of living by faith. The act of something heavier than air flying is counterintuitive. When man first attempted to fly, they tried to build machines that acted like birds or built hot air balloons. Pilots have to train themselves to do things that are counterintuitive, yet they have to be practical, realistic, fact and reality based. They (and we) rely on scientific laws or principles such as gravity and lift.
Example of person flying upside down:
Example for airplane crash of JFK Jr.: On July 16, 1999, however, with about 300 hours of flying experience, Kennedy took off from Essex County airport in New Jersey and flew his single-engine plane into a hazy, moonless night. He had turned down an offer by one of his flight instructors to accompany him, saying he "wanted to do it alone." To reach his destination of Martha's Vineyard, he would have to fly 200 miles--the final phase over a dark, hazy ocean--and inexperienced pilots can lose sight of the horizon under such conditions. Unable to see shore lights or other landmarks, Kennedy would have to depend on his instruments, but he had not qualified for a license to fly with instruments only. In their final report released in 2000, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the crash was caused by an inexperienced pilot who became disoriented in the dark and lost control.
Like pilots, people of faith must learn the necessity of flying by instruments (by the Word), rather than by their physical senses and emotions.
2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
We must learn to operate, or fly, in various conditions. Walking by faith is the only way to do David did it.

The Beauty and Power of Expectation

Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
There is something beautiful and powerful about expectation! There is also something wonderful in knowing who you are in God. In this text, Paul reminds us that nothing in this present world can be compared to the "glory" or God's character/power/presence that is within us. Said another way, "Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
In Romans 8:19, Paul uses a wonderful word for "earnest expectation" (apokaradokia). It describes the attitude of a man who scans the horizon with head thrust forward, eagerly searching the distance for the first signs of the break of dawn.
When you face challenges in life or need fresh direction, having hope and expectation are especially important. God designed us to dream and to see realities greater than our present circumstances. This is part of what it means to be made in God's "image and likeness."
All of creation, including ourselves, are experiencing the beauty and power of expectation! We are leaning forward, pressing into brighter days and possibilities. God is revealing His sons and daughters to this world as agents of change and redemption through Jesus Christ!
Expect it! Live in it! Reveal the glory!
Below is an excerpt from a poem by Maya Angelou, On the Pulse of the Morning:
Lift up your eyes upon
The day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.
Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands.
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts
Each new hour holds new chances
For new beginnings.
Do not be wedded forever
To fear, yoked eternally
To brutishness.
The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day

Living in Heaven's Entrance

Living in Heaven's Entrance
Principles of Your Inheritance
PSA 16:5, You, O LORD, are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. 6] The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.
Psa 16: NLT 5 Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. 6 The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!
1 Peter 2:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceed-ingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We take a lot for granted today because we've been blessed to live in a great and free country. We've received provision, education, protection and shelter from our families, and encouagement from our friends.. We've been living inside a bubble of blessing. And that is a good thing as long as we understand that all this is mostly the result of inheritance. When I taught about Men of Steel on Father's Day, I reflected on my father, grandfathers, mother and those who came before me. I not sure when I first realized that I've been living in inheritance but I know it now, and have for a long time.
What has always been amazing to realize is that people are not very different in terms of their dreams and desires. Mostly all parents want the same things for their children; a fruitful, healthy, purposeful and successful life.
Standing among people who lack the things I've always had is troubling to me. Visiting and serv-ing people in desperate conditions makes me thankful for my inheritance and blessings. Some conditions stand out in mind: 1) Taking food to a family in the middle of winter who were using a barbeque grill for heat. Seeing children in Lagos, Nigeria living off the streets or disabled peo-ple scooting around on boards.
I don't share this to make you feel sad or guilty, just to remind you that little of what you have today is really because of you.
Today, we're going to talk about living in Heaven's Entrance. This is not only a “feel good” mes-sage, but a call to live better so that we help our children and other people to live better. “Feel good” messages are very popular because a lot of people feel bad. I think what we sometimes lack is perspective on God's plan and design, not only for ourselves, but for all people.
And we are responsible to walk in God's plan and design, so that we can share it, or export it, to others. We can't share what we don't have.
All of the virtues and promises made in 1 Peter 2:2-8 are possible because of a provision that's been made for us:
Diligence, faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance godliness, kindness, and love are gifts of grace to us.
We didn't create these blessings. We inherit them. We have the opportunity to experience and live in that inheritance.
We have an inheritance TODAY. We are living in the entrance to heaven! We need to walk within the boundaries of our blessing so that we, as God's church, will be in a position to receive all people.
NUM 33:54 'And you shall divide the land by lot as an inheritance among your families; to the larger you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give a smaller inheri-tance; there everyone's inheritance shall be whatever falls to him by lot. You shall inherit ac-cording to the tribes of your fathers. 55] But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.
Romans 8:16 ,The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
God gives all of us an inheritance through Jesus Christ. It comes to us through our families, through our understanding of God's kingdom, our worldview, and through our personal faith in God.
We should be focused on receiving and living in all that God has given us. There is not good rea-son to live below our inheritance and privileges in Christ. Why should your inheritance go to waste. Something that has your name on it belongs to you and you alone.
You need it because you need to share it and pass it on.
The Lord is your inheritance. He maintains your lot, or your part of the inheritance.
This is so important that the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesian church led with this truth: Eph 1:18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
You are living in the entrance to heaven!
Look and live like it!
A. We live under the Abrahamic Blessing
Galatians 3:14, He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
GEN 12:1 , Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. 2] I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 3] I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
1. Bless your family
2. Bless you
3. Bless others through you
4. Bless those who bless you
5. Curse those who curse you
Notice that the blessing was not activated until the obedience was fulfilled.
You may not have a rich relative to leave a material inheritance in the future, but you have God who is rich in all things and provides today!