The Tree of Life - Chris Hodges

I'm going to give you a bedrock teaching. 

It's how to be life giving.  

It has application to your business, and your home life. 

The only time that you ever saw Jesus fired up is with the religious style of approach to God. 

You can be religious in any style of worship. 

Matthew 23:25-27 (NIRV)

25 “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! 

You pretenders! 

You clean the outside of a cup and dish. 

But on the inside you are full of greed. 

You only want to satisfy yourselves. 

26 Blind Pharisee! 

First clean the inside of the cup and dish. 

Then the outside will also be clean.

27 “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! 

You pretenders! 

You are like tombs that are painted white. 

They look beautiful on the outside. 

But on the inside they are full of the bones of the dead. 

They are also full of other things that are not pure and ‘clean.’  

We will not change the Word of God to fit our generation.  

The word of God is pure and ageless.  

Some of us were locked into ritual. 

What was missing is that it was burdensome and hard.  

It was out of duty and not out of delight. 

The motivation was completely wrong. 

When I found a life giving church.  

The thing that lead me to Christ was finding people who liked to be there.  

Have you every been in an environment when you wanted to be there and one that you did't.  

There are different types of teachers.

One made the subject enjoyable and one that did not.  

There is something about their motivation that is different.  

How do you get right behavior?  

How do you make prayer and Bible Study enjoyable?

The answer is very simple and yet very complex.  

We want to get to the place where we want too instead of that we have too. 

It's about an inner transformation.

Its human nature to want the external constraints.  

We have signs on the highway that instruct us what to do.  

We watch for police while breaking the law.

To a lot of people, that's what serving God is all about.  

As a parent, I don't want to just change their behavior, but to transform their heart. 

The gospel is the transformation of the inner man.  

Religion says do the right thing.  

The Gospel says let God give you a brand new nature, so you'll become righteous and do the right thing.  

Hebrews 8:7-12 (NIRV)

7 Suppose nothing had been wrong with that first covenant. 

Then no one would have looked for another covenant. 

8 But God found fault with the people.

 He said,

“The days are coming, announces the Lord.    

I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel.

    I will also make it with the people of Judah.

9 It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their people of long ago.

That was when I took them by the hand.
    I led them out of Egypt.

My new covenant will be different because they didn’t remain faithful to my old covenant.

    So I turned away from them,
    announces the Lord.

10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
    after that time, says the Lord.

I will put my laws in their minds.

    I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God.

    And they will be my people.

11 People will not teach their neighbor anymore.

    They will not say to one another, ‘Know the Lord.’

That’s because everyone will know me.

    From the least important to the most important,
    all of them will know me

12 I will forgive their evil ways.

    I will not remember their sins anymore.” (Jeremiah 31:31–34)

People who don't know God cannot be motivated because there is nothing going on inside of them.  

This is the difference between the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.   

       

John 14:15 (NIRV)

15 “If you love me, obey my commands.

If you build the relationship, then you'll get right behavior. 

I read it this way.  

If you love me, you'll behave yourselves.  

Now I read it.  

If you are in love with me, obeying my commands will be a piece of cake. 

Love is a delight and is not burdensome.  

From the very beginning of time, God gave man the same choice.  

He did it in the form of trees. 

The Knowledge of Good and Evil, which is external behavior(Genesis 2).  

Good is just as dangerous as evil.  

If you know good, then you'll know when you don't do it. 

What are we going to do to become Godly?  

Its hard to distinguish between the two trees. 

Satan said that you'll be like God if you eat the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil which killed Adam and Eve. 

In our pursuit, we think that we're right and others are wrong.  This will hurt you and others.

What two things happened when Adam and Eve sinned?

  They blamed someone else. They had shame.  (They felt nasty).

Galatians 1:6-7 (NIRV)

6 I am amazed. 

You are so quickly deserting the one who chose you. He chose you to live in the grace that Christ has provided. 

You are turning to a different “good news.” 

7 What you are accepting is really not the good news at all. 

It seems that some people have gotten you all mixed up. 

They are trying to twist the good news about Christ.        

Don't focus on doing the right thing instead focus on motivation.
  

1. Religion is spelled do.

2. Christianity is spelled done.

3. Religion is man's attempt to reach God.

4. Christianity is God's attempt to reach man.

5. Religion focuses on the external.

6. Christianity focuses on the internal. 

Which means that you have to have the right motivation to love to pray more, to love to do more,  to love to give more, to love to serve more.  

It's why we never recruit volunteers here.  

We don't want people who don't what to do it.  

We build ministry around what's inside of you.  

What's your passion?

What did God do when Adam and Eve sinned?

 God went looking for them.  

God has that passion to find His children. 

God is not yearning to punish.  

God is so in love with humanity.  

When you mess up, God loves you. 

Why is our viewpoint messed up about God? 

 We don't treat any body that way that's why it's hard for us to identify with it.

Isaiah 55:6-9 (NIRV)

6 Turn to the Lord before it’s too late.

    Call out to him while he’s still ready to help you.

7 Let those who are evil stop doing evil things.

    And let them quit thinking evil thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord.

    The Lord will show them his tender love.

Let them turn to our God.

He is always ready to forgive.

8 “My thoughts are not like your thoughts.

    And your ways are not like my ways,”
    announces the Lord.

9 “The heavens are higher than the earth.

    And my ways are higher than your ways.

    My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.     

1. Approach God through relationship not rules.  

Use this in your home. 

Don't focus on serving God.  

Focus on loving God. 

If you're not obeying God, that exposes your lack of love.  

John 5:39-40 (NIRV)

39 You study the Scriptures carefully.

You study them because you think they will give you eternal life. 

The Scriptures you study are a witness about me. 

40 But you refuse to come to me and receive life.

2. How do you respond to sin with life?  

In the moment when someone else sins, you can test the tree of life. 

Get back to the right motivation.  

It's like you hate the abortionist, or if you love the unborn child. 

What's the motivation?

3. Guard your heart from going back.

Focus on your motivation for every thing you do.  

Proverbs 4:23 (NIRV)

23 Above everything else, guard your heart.

    Everything you do comes from it.

Notes taken from Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands.

https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/the-tree-of-life