Appetite: Holy Digest Part 1 (Sunday Sermon Notes)

The Chosen Church
Speaker: Pastor Craig Jr.
Series: Appetite
Scripture: Matthew 3:8 (ESV)
Title: Holy Digest

Fasting is great for your soul. It allows you to get MORE of Jesus and less of you. We need to MORE of JESUS and less of us EVERYDAY!!

Evaluation Time: Is it more of us or more of HIM in us?

Question To keep asking yourself: Is it more of you or more of Jesus?

Matthew 3:8-9 (ESV)
8 “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”

Question: What keeps us from giving up on God? What keeps us from giving up on each other? What keeps us to staying in alignment? What keeps us activated with the King?Answer: Carrying our cross and following after Him.

We are NOT looking to be better people; we are LIVING to be holy people. This allows us to be BETTER people. This allows us to win more people for God.

Whats the difference between  self-improvement and self-denial? Self-improvement vs self- denial?

Self-improvement is good until it gets in the way of your self denial.

Simply Put: Anyone can aim for self-improvement of yourself but that doesn’t make you a follower of Christ. Jesus DID NOT say improve yourself, WHAT HE DID SAY WAS to DENY YOURSELF!! The very thing you are approving about yourself is the very thing keeping you from carrying your cross and following after Him.

Self-improvement is not cutting people off.

Some cut folks off because:
Someone disturbed their peace.
Someone crossed your boundaries.
You have to seek God first and deny yourself at the same time.
They may be “disturbing your peace" so you can win them.

Some people you cut off may be the same one you are supposed to win to Christ.
No one gives themselves peace. No one can disturb your peace. God gives peace. Peace is a fruit of the spirit. People disturb God’s peace. Win them for Him.
This can be self-improvement, that’s not self-denial
Acknowledge/Seek God first before you go cutting people off.
Seek God’s face first and NEVER move without Him.

When our self-improvement gets in the way of our self-denial, then self-improvement is NOT good. It works in reverse to self- denial. You can self-improve all day BUT you have to deny yourself and carry your cross.

When we deny ourselves, self-improvement comes naturally because we are doing what we are supposed to do spiritually.

Example used: We can get on a treadmill for an hour but won’t open our Word up for 5 minutes.  We lose weight from exercising on the treadmill BUT we gain the world by not eating the Word of God…………..

Self denial MUST take place!!

We always want prosperity. Self denial strips you of you. Stripping you of you blessed you because it’s more of HIM and NOT you.

Self improvement means nothing when circumstances come and you haven’t denied yourself, crucified yourself etc.

In the self denial phase. As you deny yourself, walk with him, pickup your cross, follow after Him which includes walking by FAITH and not by Sight (2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV. This allows you to overcome those “circumstances.” You are not saved by self improvement, you are saved by Jesus saying that He truly loves you. It takes a certain type of heart posture to be in position to never want to drop your cross.

DENY yourself!
TAKE up your cross!
FOLLOW after Him!

Back Story of John the Baptist:
The appetite and drive of John exemplify what it means to have a strong appetite for Jesus.
John was a very peculiar man.
John the Baptist was a New Testament prophet.
John was Jesus’ cousin.
John recognized Jesus as the Messiah.
John wanted  to prepare the way for Jesus.
John did not preach in the temple like others. He preached in the wilderness.
John the Baptist preached repentance in the wilderness of Judea.
John preaching in the wilderness was for the direct fulfillment of the old testament prophecy spoken by Isaiah.

The prophet Isaiah spoke of John the Baptist in Isaiah 40:3 (READ).
All for gospels site Isaiah 40:3.
John was beheaded.
John was killed for telling the TRUTH!
John was different on the outside and on the inside.
John lived in the Judean wilderness.
John dressed different. He wore clothes made of camels hair. He wore a leather strap around his waist.
John ate grasshopper, locusts and honey for food.
John understood his assignment.
John preached repentance.
John performed water baptisms in the Jordan.

Isaiah 40:3. (ESV)
3 “A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

John pulled them outside of their organized religion in the temple to hear the voice of God in the wilderness. He pulled them out of religious comfort to confront their spiritual condition.

Reminder: He preached REPENTANCE!!!

In order to prepare the way for Jesus you gotta get out of the way. You have to remove you. You have to REMOVE the YOU out of YOU!

You have to repent before you get baptism.

 Repent!! Repent!! Repent!! Repent!!

If you are NOT doing something outside of the church walls, you are NOT doing NO-THING for the KINGDOM. Repent!!

FYI: Sunday sermons, Mid-week refills are game plans to teach us/show us how to go outside of the church walls and tell someone to repent.

 OTN: Our lives will speak louder than our words because people watch who you really are outside of the church walls.

When you are desperate for God’s Word NOTHING will stop you from getting it. When you want to hear from God, nothing will stop you.  

Matthew 3:5 They ALL went to the wilderness. When you are hungry for God, NOTHING will stop you from hearing what God wants to say to you.

Question: What stops us from getting Jesus when someone is preparing the way for Jesus?

Pleaseeeee: Don’t let NO-THING separate ate you from the love of Jesus