Inside Information

My sermon series for 2010 is about "Identity"
Below are some thoughts from last Sunday's notes regarding "Inside Information":

Insiders of the Kingdom

It is an awesome fact that as a citizen of God’s kingdom, you are already uniquely positioned to live out your kingdom citizenship among the people you relate to every day. God has called you to be an "insider" to see your family, neighborhood, and workplace through kingdom eyes. It is time to form new kingdom lifestyle patterns Evangelism is not just for the gifted few—it’s for all of us. We need to daily connect with the eternal purposes of God.

Certain messages are appropriate for those who are inside the faith, but make no sense to those outside the faith.

Through relationship, God entrusts His secrets to us. We are insiders in the Kingdom.

Mark Chapter 4: 1-20
Mark 4:1-20 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times." 9 Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'" 13 Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop-- thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

There are things that Only God knows and does not share

There are things that you know because of who you are

There are things you are expected to learn because if your position

There are things that are available for you to learn if you wantAbraham in Gen. 12

The Kingdom mentality changes our definition of normal.