There are three questions that God is consistently asking us. Each question acts as a gateway to the next, and the answers to these questions bring us to breakthrough and blessing in our lives. Christian life is a process. Following Christ is a journey. God uses these questions to get us through challenges, help us grow and move us from place to place. As such, we need to be happy when we face challenges and see it as an opportunity to grow in God.

God does not respond to our needs. He responds to the faith we have inside us that God will help us overcome our needs. Even in a place of blessing there will be pitfalls and obstacles (i.e. consider the serpent in the Garden of Eden). There will be things that can cause us to backslide when we aren’t managing our lives and seeing into the future - seeing through God’s eyes and with vision.
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 Sunday, November 18, 2007: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Thanksgiving is an attitude. Everyday, you decide to be thankful. Jesus said love one another - all the time - not when you feel like it or when they love you. Love is a choice, not a feeling. You can’t base relationships, commitments or decisions on how you feel. Relationships based on emotion are unstable. Commitment has to be more lasting. Commitment is also a decision.

Thankfulness and gratefulness are daily decisions. They cannot be based on what we see or feel at the time. They have to be based in faith. God says that He works all things together for good for those that love Him. Despite what we see or feel, God is always working. What releases God’s work in our lives is the thankfulness, faith and belief in our hearts. Everyday, we need to express our thankfulness to God with words and actions. Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I do is thank God. We thank God not only for what we see but also - and most importantly - for what we don’t see. This both demonstrates and exercises our faith.

Thanksgiving is a lifestyle. We need to carry thanksgiving with us every day. We need to rise above our circumstances to see things as God sees them - look from a higher perspective. King David praised God amidst incredible circumstances. Paul rejoiced in prison because he was able to spread God’s word even while in chains. We can’t let the things we see trap us into a negative attitude. Negativity affects our vision. Without vision, there is no movement. Thanksgiving is about believing that God is in control.

Lift up your eyes and see what God sees. God is working for us when we give thanks.

Matthew 7 - A lot of people think that God is angry, judgmental and tired of humanity. But Jesus did not come to the Earth with a big stick. He brought grace, love, and compassion.

Obedience on the outside is RELIGION. Real obedience is about the heart. We cannot judge people by what we see on the outside - that is the mistake of religion. God wants us to choose to follow him. This is the point of a free will. This ensures that we are obedient on the inside…where it counts.
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 Pastor Dean - Sunday, November 11, 2007: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Matthew 5, 6 & 7 - The Kingdom of God is not a place we go – it is a way we live.

Money:
Matthew 6:19-24 – “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasure sin heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness and if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
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