KBF Teachings

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Preacher: Rob Flaherty | Permanent Link

James 4:1-12
¹What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? ²You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you can not have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. ³When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. ⁴You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes and enemy of God. ⁵Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us tends toward envy, ⁶but he gives us more grace? That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." ⁷Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Come near  to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands , you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded. ⁹Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. ¹¹Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. ¹²There is only one lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you- who are you to judge your neighbor?

1.) People at War against each other (4:1,11-12)

• disciples had fights (Lk 9:46-48).
• Early Churches (1Cor.6:1-8 & Gal.5:15)

1. Rich VsPoor （2:1-9)
   (rich man honored & poor ignored)
2. Employment Wars (5:1-6)
3. Church Fights (1:19&29, 3:13-18)
4. Personsl Wars(4:11-12)

• Christians were speaking evil of one another.
  (Eph4:15/1Peter4:8 /Mt.18:15/Phil.1:9-10/Matt.7:1-5).

2,) The War with Ourselves (4:1b-3)

• "What causes fights and quarrels among you?...”

3.) Being at War with God.(4:4-10)

• The foundational cause of all wars inside us as well as outside us is rebellion against God. How does a believer declare war against God? By being friendly withGod’s enemies

1. The World (4:4)
2. The flesh (4:1,5)
3. The Devil (4:6-7)

Solution to the Wars of Life?

1. Submit to God (4:7) "Give up ownership"
2. Draw near to God (4:8) "Get forgiveness"
3. Humble yourselves God (4:9-10)
   "Walk humbly knowing all is by Grace

Put total control of your life in God's hands and he will give you peace!(Is. 9:6)

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Preacher: Rob Flaherty | Permanent Link

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Preacher: Rob Flaherty | Permanent Link

Where to Get Real Wisdom

James 3:13-18
¹³'Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. ¹⁶For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. ¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

Intro: We live in a world in desperate need of true wisdom......

1.）True Wisdom & Earthly wisdom have different origins.

2.）Different wisdoms have different ways of working.(3:13-14, 17)

• False wisdom looks like: (3:14)

1. Envy
2. disorder
3. Boasting
4. Deny truth

• True Spiritual Wisdom looks like:

1. humility (3:13)
2. Purity (3:17)
3. Peace (3:17)
4. Considerate & Submissive (3:17)
5. full of mercy-
6. Good fruits- (3:17)
7. impartial & sincere- (3:17)

3.)Different wisdoms have different results (3:16,18)

• Worldly wisdom produces trouble (3:16)
• God's wisdom produces Blessing (3:18)

Get true Wisdom from

• Knowing Jesus as Lord & following him."ask"
• Make friends with people who have some of God's wisdom working in their life. 
• Get God's word inside you in practical ways.

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Preacher: Rob Flaherty | Permanent Link

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Preacher: Rob Flaherty | Permanent Link

Acts 3:1-10
¹One day peter and john were going up to the temple at the time of prayer- at three in the afternoon.²Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.³When he saw peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. ⁴Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" ⁵So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. ⁶Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."⁷ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong.⁸He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. ⁹When all the people saw him walking and praising God. ¹⁰They recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Intro- Have you ever had a problem so big that no matter what you do ,nothing seems to help? No amount of thinking can find a solution? You have had your problem so long you are at the point of giving up all hope of a solution?? Today’s story is of such a man. Unable to walk from birth. amily has given up all hope of a meaningful life. Carried every day like a big heavy bag or rice to the temple to beg......Do any of you have such a problem?? I do....and I don't have any answers...except one.

There Seems to be a Climate for God's Power to work.

1.Get a God centered life& in tune with the Holy Spirit.
vs.1 Going up to the temple at the time of prayer.

Question: Is Jesus the Lord of my life, today? Am I tuned to God or tuned to self?

2.Be available to the Holy Spirit  and lean on God's strength and not your own strength.
vs.6a Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 

*From despair comes help.　

Psalm 34:18
"The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Question: Am I open to the Holy Spirit's guidance or to full of your own ideas & plans

3.Speak the God given word in Jesus Name.
vs.6b 'In the name of Jesus Christ, walk'

Story-My problem with mom's pain on Sunday

4.Be willing to step out in faith...even if it makes you look foolish
vs.7 Taking him by the right hand he helped him up.

5.When God gives a miracle, people should be amazed at God not you!
anything God has done is by grace.
Vs.8b "then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God."

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Preacher: Rob Flaherty | Permanent Link

We havent just been saved. Rather、we've been made anew to live a life filled with the life of Jesus. So let us live according to the richness of Christ's grace!

*We seek God's will.
But sometimes our motives can be a problem.

Through life we make decisions:what is good、what is bad?ーThe tree of knowledge of good & evil. Is this tree a tree of the Law ? !

Genesis3:1-6
¹Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" ²The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " ⁴"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. ⁵"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." ⁶When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.⁷Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

We are supposedto have been saved by God's grace alone....Hang on、arent we falling into deedsーcentred habits?

Being deeds―centered tends to mean that we become proud when things go well for us、and get depressed when things dont work out.

Be careful! Even now Satan is telling us to eat that fruit.
The way to live choosing the tree of life:
Galatians 2:20-21
²⁰So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
      But for Adam no suitable helper was found. ²¹So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh.

John 5:20
For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.

Romans 9:16
It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.

Grace- Life of depending on Jesus and letting Him to be the driving force of it!

Check if you have been deedsーcentred or not.

1. Do you have fear of failure or not?
2. Do you criticise others or not?
3. Do you blame yourself for things or not?

“The tree of knowledge of good & eveil”  This is a symbol of deeds-focused life, which never satisfies us. Actually this way of thinking leads us to live under guilts and finally to end up with death.

Romans 8:13
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,

“The tree of life”  This symbolizes to live by God’s grace. This does not mean to do something for Him but does mean to rejoice over being with Him !

Even God himself rejoices over you with singing !

Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is with you,
       he is mighty to save.
       He will take great delight in you,
       he will quiet you with his love,
       he will rejoice over you with singing."

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Preacher: Katsumi Ishizaka | Permanent Link