• In mountain climbing there are certain hazards to avoid in order to have a successful ascent to the summit:

Objective Hazards – Rock falls, snowstorms, avalanches, lightning, wind, rain, extreme temperature are examples of objective hazards.Subjective Hazards – these are simply hazards caused by the climber. Examples are ignorance, improper training, poor judgment, inadequate equipment, and poor conditioning as well as too much confidence, false pride, and fear.

• There are some things we don’t have control over like the objective hazards.

• But, there are some hazards that can be avoided like the subjective hazards.

Summit’s Subjective Hazards1. No food or drink in the theater/sanctuary

except bottled water.2. Coffee should only be consumed in the

lobby area.3. No one is allowed to enter:

– Gift Shop– Concession Stand– Ticket Counter– Stage– Sound Booth– Areas outside of the lobby & sanctuary

4. Children who are unattended by parents will be given a double espresso coffee and a puppy dog. Parents, PLEASE be aware of where your children are at all times.

5. Children and teens are not allowed to be running anywhere inside the AMT.

6. No running around outside the building before or after services.

7. Parents, once you pick up your child(ren), you are responsible for them (see #4).

8. No one in the nursery and preschool areas except for the workers and the children.

Thank you for your help and understanding in this! Together we

can safely reach the Summit!

• Conclusion of Truth Exposes Lies series. • We’ve been talking about the BIG LIES the devil tells

concerning healing. • This morning’s message: Your Image of God Stinks!When I say, “God,” what do you think of? What images come to mind? Do you believe the lies the devil has floated about God? Or, is your image of Him the true one presented in the Scriptures?

What happens when you turn a light on in a dark room?

• The Light dispels the darkness.• That is the same when the light

of the truth encounters the lies of the devil.• The lies are exposed!• Lies are keeping people in bondage.

Mr. Jones Goes to Heaven What if you found out that God desired to give you 23 specific blessings today, but you only received 1? What do you suppose the reason would be?• In Mr. Jones’ white box are all the blessings that

God wanted to give him while he was on earth. • But, Mr. Jones never asked.Ask, and it will be given to you (Matt. 7:7). You have not because you ask not (James 4:2). • Even though there is no limit to God’s goodness, if

you don’t ask Him for His blessings, you won’t receive all you’re supposed to.

• God has made so much available to us, but many fail to ask.

• Some are even worried that they are bothering the Lord by asking.

Lie # 5 – Don’t bother the Lord with your problems. He’s busy with more important matters than to be concerned with your petty issues! • Most of us in here believe that is not true, but in

practice we act like we do. • Many even hesitate to ask God to bless them

because they feel like they don’t deserve it.

• If you believe that about God, my question is: What kind of God are you serving?

• That’s not the God of the Scriptures. • If that is your idea of God, your view of Him stinks.• Think about the futility of that thinking. • Jesus left all the splendor of heaven and crossed the

biggest cultural gap in history and became man. • He then went through all the suffering on the cross,

so you could be free. • The One who had never known sin became sin, so

that you could become the righteousness of God.

Would it not be a slap in His face to say that you somehow can’t receive what He paid for? Since when has anything we’ve ever received from God been based on our merit? • That is what grace is all about. • We don’t deserve it, but God offers His blessings to

us anyway. Why? • He loves you! • Plain and simple. • We receive His mercy even though none of us

deserves it.

Could this be what James was talking about?James 1:5-8 – But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. • Context: seeking wisdom in how to deal with trials

in your life, but the principle is there. • Notice what he says about the Lord: God gives

generously and without reproach. • In other words, He doesn’t say, What do you want

now? Why do you keep bugging Me about this? • No, He gives generously and without belittling you.

5 If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. (AMP)

• He’s a giving God. How does He give?1. Liberally—generously 2. Ungrudgingly—without strings attached3. Without reproach or faultfinding—He never puts

you down or belittles you because you ask.

• God loves to give. • That is what He does. • Giving is the essence of who God is. • To say that He gives grudgingly is the direct

opposite of who He is.What is God’s answer? “And it will be given to him!” • That is always God’s answer. • But, there is a condition to our asking. How do we ask?

6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. • The one condition to receiving is faith. • We have to believe God desires to answer our

prayers and to bless us. • Don’t doubt it; trust Him.• The one who does not have the confidence that

God will grant his request, will probably not receive.

• Faith is single-minded commitment, trusting fully in God; not double-minded.

• It holds on to God during the hard times.

• It is continued confidence in God despite outward circumstances.

• It also involves the conviction that God truly desires to bless.

• The writer of Hebrews continues this thought:

Hebrews 4:16 – Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. (AMP)

• God is approachable! • He wants you to come to Him in your time of need. • As a believer, we can boldly & confidently come to

God in our time of need & know we will receive help.

• He is there with His arms wide open to you. • This is the God of the Bible. Why are we able to do this?

Hebrews 10:19-20 – And so, dear brothers, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.• Jesus paid the way for us to come boldly before God

to make our requests. • God is approachable and desires that we come. • My daughter has the confidence that she can come

to me and make a request. • She has that privilege—she’s my daughter.• The same privilege has been given to us through

Jesus; we are joint-heirs with Christ.

• If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. • Jesus said that if you’ve seen Him then you’ve seen

the Father.

John 5:19-20a – So Jesus explained, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself. He does only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing.

• Jesus healed the despised leper. • He talked to the outcast Samaritan woman. • He loved having the children come to Him. • He affirmed the poor widow who gave all she had. • He responded to the cries of the blind beggar,

Bartimaeus: Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me! • He gives grace to the humble and resists the proud. • Jesus, the One who had never sinned, willingly died

for each of us even though we didn’t deserve it.• When they were unjustly nailing Him to the cross,

He forgave!

Why did Jesus do all that? • Jesus said if you’ve seen Him, you’ve seen the

Father.• He does nothing apart from the Father.• If you want to know what the Father is like, look at

Jesus.• He did these things because that is what the Father

does.

Prodigal Son• In the story of the Prodigal Son, we usually focus on

the sinful son returning. • There are actually 3 people in that story:

– the Prodigal – the self-righteous, elder son – the loving father

• The Father’s Perspective• God is not mad at you! • He loves you and desires to bless you. • He wants you to bother Him with your problems.

• King David said this about God:Psalm 27:4 – One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. (NIV)

• To see and know Him as He really is to see and know Him as beautiful.

• He is not angry and unapproachable. • He is standing there with His arms open wide. • But, like any good Father, He doesn’t wink at sin. • Because He loves us, He demands us to live by a

high standard; but He’s there to help us.

Test: Do you look forward to coming into His presence?Conclusion• We’ve learned the truth about 5 lies perpetrated by

the devil concerning healing:LIE # 1 – God Stopped Healing when the Apostles died or when the Bible was finalized.LIE # 2 – God puts sickness on us to teach us a lesson. LIE #3 – God does not will that all be healed. LIE # 4 – Paul’s Thorn in the flesh was a sickness.LIE # 5 – Don’t bother the Lord with your petty problems.

• We need to make sure that our beliefs are based on the Word of God.

• And, not on popular opinions of people who really don’t know the Lord or His power.

• Jesus is here this morning. He says, Bother Me with your problems no matter how small they may be. • His storehouses are wide open! • Ask and it will be given to you pressed down and

shaken together.Does your view of God stink? • It’s time to know Him as the beautiful God He is.