The Rock San Diego – 9/7 message

• Live in the world, but don’t be OF the world – the rules by which you live are God’s rules
• Don’t get hung up on what’s going on on earth
• Everything you connect yourself will be gone in heaven – even marriage
• Wake up to and deny the pressure to deny your faith
• Don’t put your faith in your pocket – Satan is trying to shut you up
• Guard and protect your heart – Satan is always trying to trip you up
• Your emotions are uncontrollable – and they will tell you one thing one day, and another thing another day – just because something feels right, doesn’t mean it is right
• Live to please God, not people
• Do everything in love – doesn’t mean you give everyone everything they want
• Whatever you do, do it by representing the Lord
• Every single person on the planet earth is a person of faith and a filter of world-view
• Love is a step of faith, like God is a step of faith – how do you know either exist?  You just do.
• We are in a spiritual battle – the world wants to eliminate the Christian worldview
• Wake up and walk the fine line
• Justice is getting what you deserve – don’t ever ask for justice
• Grace is getting what you don’t deserve and can’t pay back – pray for grace
• Mercy is not getting what you deserve (punishment)
• Sacrifice your body to God – He wants to take your talents and abilities and magnify them for His glory
• Be wary, if your views are shaped by or are shaped like the world’s views, take another look at what the Bible says about it
• Do it God’s way, and you’ll be happy
• The one thing that you absolutely can not do is compromise your faith
• I must obey my father, and whatever consequences the world gives me for that, I’ll take it

The Rock San Diego – 10/26 sermon – prayer

• It’s all about the experience – you need to experience God
• Come to God with an attitude of “God, I want to experience you”,
• Prayer, one letter at a time – AWCIPA
• Admire God
• I will praise you, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.  Psalm 9:1
• I thank you for…
• I praise you for…
• Don’t ask for anything
• Don’t confess anything
• Don’t complain about anything
• Don’t pray for anybody
• Wait
• Be still and know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10
• Sit quietly and wait for God to speak to you
• Clear your mind of distracting thoughts – you want to listen
• Say, “I love you Jesus” over and over again
• Be ready to write down what God says to you
• When you hear a voice in your head, write it down – God’s voice in your head will sound just like your voice.  Many times you hear your conscience, it’s really God speaking to you.  Your sinful nature doesn’t want to be second or unnoticed or sorry.
• Go start doing it and watch what happens
• Confess
• “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”
• Confess means to agree – I agree that I have sinned
• The more deep your confession, the more deep God’s cleansing
• Be real with God – don’t act like He doesn’t already know
• Confess and be cleansed – and God can cleansed quickly
• Intercede – praying for somebody else
• “Moreover, as for me, far be it for me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you, but I will teach you the good and right way.”
• Pray for someone who is not your family or friend
• Pray for someone you don’t like
• Ask God to bless them – make your presence real to them
• By the way, having God does NOT mean that you have money – all you need is God
• Petition – Here’s what I want
• You don’t deserve anything – contrary to what our culture says
• Don’t ask for something you can touch or see
• Ask for a clean heart, stop you from gossiping… something that God wants in your life
• Admire God
• People die when either they have done what God intends them to do, or God figures out that they’re never going to get around to it.
• No matter what the situation is, God is in control – wait and see what God has planned

Called to baptism

While studying the Rock San Diego sermon (wait section), a series of events led me to give up on watching what was turning out to be a great learning experience.  I took that to mean, that God feels that I had seen enough the time being.  I took that as a sign that I was to follow what was being taught and Wait for the Lord in prayer.  I said “I love you Jesus” over and over and over, and as my thoughts dispersed, I sat waiting.  This is the dialog that ensued:

(tears filled my eyes and my head bowed down uncontrollably)

(I started to get worried here about what was coming – I was in disbelief that this is where He was headed)

Terror filled me, but then I realized that Jesus would not mean He wanted me to take my own life.

Then I had a clue what He was asking for – baptism