I Rest My Case

John Gray @ Lakewood Church

1. 1 John 2:1-2 KJV
1. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 
1. Propitiation:(from Latin propitiāre, "to appease;" from propitius, "gracious")[1] is the act of appeasing or making well-disposed a deity, thus incurring divine favor or avoiding divine retribution.
2. Advocate: a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy. (To one's aid)
2. The Law Reminds You of Your Broken Places.
1. There's an enemy who's trying to stop you when you're on the way to your final destination.
1. Stopped by police when you know you’re in the wrong
1. Get caught in  vulnerable moment.
2. Sometimes You Get a Warning
3. Other times you get a ticket.
1. The enemy wants to cause you to pay repeatedly.
2. Man wants to hold you hostage to the worse version of yourself
4. When  you get a ticket, you have to go to court.
1. Judges appreciate truth and humility.
2. The opposing counsel will have ample evidence.
1. Revelation 12:10 NIV 
1. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 
3. The Blood Covers Your Mistakes
1. Blood is an external change agent and an internal work.
2. When you’re on trial be thankful.
1. Psalm 100:4-5 NIV
1. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. 
3. As you’re going through the trial rejoice
1. Psalm 100:4-5 NIV
1. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 
4. 1 Peter 1:6 NIV
5. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith even when we are going through bad situations.
1. John 19:30 KJV
1. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. 

So I'm watching "The Wolf of Wall Street".

So I'm watching "The Wolf of Wall Street". It's about Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) who in 1987 takes an entry-level job at a Wall Street brokerage firm. By the early 1990s, while still in his 20s, Belfort founds his own firm, Stratton Oakmont. Together with his trusted lieutenant (Jonah Hill) and a merry band of brokers, Belfort makes a huge fortune by defrauding wealthy investors out of millions.  It's pretty horrible. I can't believe that this really happened. So I decided to see what the scripture of the day was on YouVersion.^{Courtesy IMDB}

I actually stopped watching the movie to do a little Bible study; I’ll definitely finish it later. I’ve never done the exact things that Belfort does in this movie but I do fall short so I wanted to examine my heart after reading YouVersion’s scripture of the day and I deemed it quite ironic how it seems to speak against the theme of this movie.

1. Acts 20:33-35 is the scripture of the day and it says this:
1. "I've never, as you so well know, had any taste for wealth or fashion. With these bare hands I took care of my own basic needs and those who worked with me. In everything I've done, I have demonstrated to you how necessary it is to work on behalf of the weak and not exploit them. You'll not likely go wrong here if you keep remembering that our Master said, 'You're far happier giving than getting.'" 
2. You’re More Blessed to Give than to Receive
1. Taste for wealth or fashion
1. Matthew 6:19-21
1. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
1. I love fashion. It's one of many things that I spend my money on.
2. DiCaprio's character brags about his $2000 suit.
3. Paul doesn't say wealth or fashion are bad, just that he doesn't have a taste for it.
2. Care of personal basic needs
1. Taking care of yourself is important and spiritual.
1. 1 Cor 3:16
1. Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?
2. Romans 12:1
3. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
2. Taking care of yourself just as important as taking care of others. 
1. Philippians 2:4
1. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
3. Care of personal needs of coworkers
1. 1 John 3:17-18
1. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
2. Galatians 6:9-10
1. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
4. Work on behalf of the weak without exploiting them
1. Ephesians 4:28
1. The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need.

Though Belfort’s actions so far are quite reprehensible, his character does raise a good point in that how can you give if you are poor; if you have nothing to give, then are you stuck on the lesser side of the blessing? In DiCaprio's opening monologue, he says:

See money doesn't just buy you a better life, better food, better cars, better [expletive deleted], it also makes you a better person. You can give generously to the church or the political party of your choice. You can save the [expletive deleted] spotted owl with money.

The only problem is that Belfort wasn’t being a better person. He was doing the opposite of what Paul advises in the aforementioned scripture. He was exploiting everyone: his friends, women, investors, etc. His illegally hedonistic lifestyle was very damaging to his health and wellbeing. He encouraged others to partake in the same damaging lifestyle. I can’t believe that this is based on a true story…I wonder how it will end.

This I Believe

Ed Newton @ Community Bible Church

1. Mark 10:46-52
1. Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means "son of Timaeus"), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."  So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.   "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see."   "Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
1. He Began to Shout
1. He got undignified.
2. He didn’t listen when people tried to stop him.
2. The Spirit of Desperation
1. Gas story.
1. Ed decided that he could make it to the next city with his gas tank on E. So he finally stopped at a gas station and realized that he had forgotten his wallet. So he searched his phone for someone with that city's area code to see if the guy would meet him. He wasn’t even sure who the person was but he was desperate and had no shame.
2. Intersection of Helplessness and Hopelessness
1. Helplessness
2. Hopelessness
3. The singleminded desire.
1. Jesus Son of David
1. 2 Samuel 7
1. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ 
2. He asked for mercy
1. Mercy is not getting.
1. He asked to not receive something that he felt like he deserved.
1. Unfortunately there is a sentiment that if someone is suffering, it’s because of something he/she did. But rain comes from everyone.
2. Sometime we ask out of sense of guilt and not need.
3. He asked even though Jesus was busy.
1. Mark 10:32-34
2. Jesus was on the way to His crucifixion.
4. Surrendered His Dependencies
1. v. 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
1. Blind people are very calculated.
2. Every step matters.
3. A blind person wouldn't be able to find something if he just threw it aside.
1. Bartimaeus had faith that he either wouldn't need it anymore or he wouldn't need help finding it because he'd be able to see!
2. v. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
1. Jesus is all knowing.
2. Bartimaeus was clearly blind.
3. Jesus COULD HAVE healed him without any discussion
1. Sometimes we just need to say things out outloud!
5. What would I say if I had that moment?