I THESSALONIANS 5:23‑24 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

This is what God is doing in us.

God desires that we be sanctified through and through ‑ completely ‑our whole lives ‑ every area.

What is sanctification ‑ set apart for his use prepared for his use his purpose.

We need his divine order in every area of our lives so that we may be used of God!

And he will do it!

WE will be looking at a number of areas of our lives that we need Divine Order:

Our life ‑ As the temple of God ‑ our inner man
Our life in relationship to others ‑
Friendships
Dating
Marriage
Raising a family
Etc.

I. WHO ARE WE? (Our Callings And Purpose In Life)

I Cor. 3:16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

We are His temple

We are to have his Wisdom & understanding

TEST:

1. What is my purpose in life?

2. What is my goal to perform in life most of all?

3. What is the most important accomplishment of my life thus far?

ANSWERS:

1. TO LOVE GOD

2. TO LOVE GOD

3. LOVING GOD

Our main purpose in all that we do is to love God ‑ everything falls short.

Everything else is not important ‑ unless loving God is first and foremost in our lives.

A. WE NEED TO KNOW OUR PURPOSE IN LIFE

If a person does not have a clear purpose in life, they will have difficulty in making decisions. The results will be insecurity and frustrations.

Yes ‑ Loving God is first purpose ‑ But you and I need specifics on how, when, where and what to do.

Let’s look at some words that relate to discovering our purpose in life:

SUCCESS: Measuring what we are by what we could be and what we have done by what we could have done. Achieving the full potential God planned for us.

COL 1:28‑29 We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

GOD’S WILL: The continual growing and development of our walk of faith, which leads us to achieve spiritual maturity.

EPHESIANS 4:11‑15 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

MATURITY: Forming the characteristics of Christ in us and reproducing them in the lives of others.

GALATIONS 4:19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

We must view purpose in life from God’s perspective:

Our purpose in life should be to flow in God’s will.

We should ask; “God, what is your schedule and priority scale in my life?”

Put your life’s priorities in line with God’s priorities for your life.

God’s purpose for his body is to lead them to spiritual maturity.

See and respond to life situations from God’s point of view. This means being equipped with the Word of God that you will know how to respond to any situation.

Hebrews 5:13‑14 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

God’s priority involves people.

God’s concern is for people “FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD ‑ PEOPLE!”

Conflicts reveal specific needs of maturity in our lives.

God uses these conflicts to reveal where we need to grow.

We are being molded and shaped by God’s hand!

Romans 9:19‑21 One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?

God’s purpose involves “Seeking first the Kingdom” rather than striving for vocational position.

Our joy, our success and fulfillment in life is determined by the degree to which we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

We are responsible for our motivations ‑ God is responsible for the results of our works!

8 CALLINGS THAT DEVELOP OUR PURPOSE IN LIFE:

These are spiritual developments through specific callings.

FIRST ‑ NEW BIRTH ‑ REPENTANCE ‑ SALVATION –

Romans 10:9‑10; That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Make Jesus Lord of every area of your life.

Then ‑ Walk it out by learning how to impart this new life in Christ to others as you make personal commitments to Jesus in each area of your life.

SECOND ‑ SEPARATION FROM DARKNESS –

I Peter 2:9; But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Turning from all that you know, or sense is not of God.

Then ‑ Walk it out by making a list of the specific attitudes and actions which the Holy Spirit reveals are displeasing to Him.

Then apply specific scripture to each one and obey the Word.

THIRD ‑ DEDICATION TO THE LIGHT –

Romans 12:1‑2; Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Yielding all ownership and rights to God and renewing your mind with the Word, be committed to doing God’s Word.

Then ‑ Walk it out by making a list of the things you own and give them to God.

Give all your personal rights to God.

FOURTH ‑ INVESTMENT IN SERVICE –

Matthew 6:19; “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

Commit yourself to Become involved in lasting achievements.

Using talents, possessions, time and energy to build others up spiritually.

Then ‑ Walk it out by learning to be a servant.

FIFTH ‑ ENDURANCE ‑ SUFFERING –

I Peter 2:19‑21; For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

Expect to be misunderstood by others,

I Peter 1:6‑7; In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

James 1:2‑4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Then ‑ Walk this out by not being a complainer ‑ but a rejoicer!

SIXTH ‑ GODLINESS IN OUR RESPONSES –

Romans 8:29; For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Decide to Respond as God would to those who wrong you.

Then ‑ walk it out by applying the Word of God to that hurt, let God reveal to you the root problem and then allow his Word to heal you.

SEVENTH ‑ SENSITIVITY TO OTHERS –

II Corinthians 1:2‑8; Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.

Decide to become alert to the hurts and needs of others, as you have been hurt.

Then ‑ Walk it out by sharing with others your experiences when you sense they are in need of them.

EIGHT ‑ REPRODUCTION OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY –

Colossians 1:29; To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

Assist others through he same steps you have had to take and reproduce the character of Jesus in them.

Then ‑ Walk it out by writing our experiences in which you have had.

Then discover scripture with which you can identify in that experience and which reveal insights on why it happened so that you can minister to others who are growing.

Always be ready to share what God had done in your life.

We need to learn God’s ways in dealing with our purpose and visions:

Each of us can expect that God’s major dealings with us will be in harmony with His basic ways. He wants us to know these ways so that we can properly respond to the events He brings into our lives.

Three basic aspects of the ways of God:

Birth of a vision
- Death of a vision
- Supernatural fulfillment of the original vision

BIRTH OF A VISION:

Each one of us have special purposes for being here, God desires to reveal them to us.

Examples:

Abraham had a vision of being a great nation Joseph had a vision that he would be a great leader and that many would bow down to him Moses had a vision that he would Israel out of the bondage of Egypt.

Disciples of Jesus had a vision of establishing and being part of the Kingdom of God.

A grain of wheat had the vision of producing allot of wheat.

DEATH OF A VISION:

The expectations that God gives are powerful motivations to continue during discouragement.

Examples:

Sarah was barren and too old to have children.

Joseph’s brothers sold him to some merchant, and he became a slave, later he was falsely accused and condemned to spend his life in prison.

Pharaoh, as well as his own people drove Moses out of Egypt after his first attempt to relieve their bondage.

Jesus was killed by the very ones He came to save, and the disciples saw him buried in the tomb.

The grain of wheat dies and rots in the ground.

SUPERNATURAL FULFILLMENT OF THE VISION:

God usually fulfills our expectations in ways that we never would have thought.

God have Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age who became the father of a great nation.

God allowed Joseph to interpret the dreams of the butler and baker and later the king, and then he was made ruler of the land.

God gave Moses signs and wonders to convince Pharaoh and his people that God was speaking through him to lead the nation to Canaan.

God raised Jesus from the dead, and great miracles were performed by his disciples to prove he was alive and still is!

A harvest springs up out of the very process of death in the ground for the grain of wheat!

Are we ready to allow God to do with our lives as he pleases?

Are we willing to look at our life a believer afresh and allow God to work in us?

B. DEVELOPING A GODLY SELF IMAGE ‑

How do you see yourself?

If you could change your appearance, your abilities, your parentage your environment ‑ would you?

And if so, what would you change and why?

We need to see ourselves the way our heavenly Father sees us!

Our awareness of our own identity or self-image is greatly influenced by the values other people place on our ‑ appearance ‑ abilities ‑ parentage ‑ environment

A negative self-image will be the result of accepting the values of people around us.

However, an accurate Biblical self-image will develop if we comprehend and accept the values which God places on our appearance, abilities, parentage and environment.

What are the consequences of a negative or non‑biblical self-image?

Inability to trust God completely:

A person’s attitude toward himself has a profound influence on his attitude toward God, his family, his friends, his future and many other areas of his life.

“If God made a mistake with me, or didn’t do right with me how can I trust Him to do right in other areas?”

A resistance against authority:

When we reject the person ‑ ourselves ‑ God is creating, we nurse wounds and feel cheated in life.

Proverbs 18:14 “A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?”

Usually feels that God owes them something.

Develops bitterness towards anything it attaches itself (bitterness) to any authority figure, parents, civil, employers etc.

We will feel trapped ‑ in a “straight jacket”.

How would they respond to this verse?

Matt 7:13‑14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

There is a hindrance to genuine friendships:

We become oversensitive to the response of others to our appearance, thus not being able to concentrate on their real needs.

Meeting their needs is the basis for building long & lasting friendships.

Prov. 18:24 “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

We project negative feelings towards others.
Cold, judgmental, aloof, not trustworthy etc.

If we do not accept ourselves how do we expect others to?

An overemphasis on materialism:

Matthew 6:26,27 – Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

What are we concerned about?

Do we trust God to care of us or are we consumed with adding to ourselves treasure because we are not sure God will give us what we think we need ‑ or want!

I Timothy 6:6 “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

We end up overcompensating and give others the impression that we are:

Self assured, cocky, braggart etc.

Our attention will be diverted from true achievement in our life.

WE try to overcompensate for our self-perceived “deficiencies”

By achieving goals which gain acceptance & approval of others.
This desire for approval will divert our attention from the purpose and achievement God has designed for our lives!

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

I Samuel 16:7 “Man looks at the outward appearance…”

Proverbs 15:13 “A happy heart makes the face cheerful…”

We will be critical of our self and always comparing ourselves with others.

Biblical principle for developing a proper Godly or positive self-image :

In order to accept the UNCHANGEABLE FEATURES in ourselves which God has made, we must see our life from God’s perspective ‑ a much bigger perspective.

God’s basic purpose in creating us is that we have fellowship with Him through Jesus Christ, And that we experience the full potential of Christ working in and through these bodies of ours.

John 17:3 “and this is life eternal that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

John 10:10 “.. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

Phil 3:8; “… I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Satan is aware of the potential which God has put within our lives, and he desires to totally destroy it or at least partially diminish its potential.

II Timothy 2:20‑22 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Satan’s initial method of operation is to get us to believe that God has cheated or will cheat us out of that which we rightfully have.

Genesis 3:4‑5 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Colossians 2:8‑10 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

Before we were born, God prescribed our unchangeable features in accordance with His plan for our lives.

Psalms 119:73 Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands.

Psalms 139:14‑16 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

God is not finished making us yet.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We are = present continuous action.

There is no such thing as a “universal ideal” in the outward appearance.

I Sam 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Isa 53:2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

Was Jesus perfect? Yes!

Looks had nothing to do with His perfection ‑ nor yours!

There is a universal ideal on inward qualities.

Reproducing the character of Jesus Christ in us by the power of God’s Spirit and His grace.

Romans 8:29; And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Our happiness is not dependent on our outward beauty but on our ability to experience the character of the Lord Jesus Christ at work in our lives.

Matt 6:33; “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Psalm 17:15 “As for me I will behold thy face in righteousness, I will be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.”

Matt 5:3‑12; “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

If necessary, God sacrifices outward beauty to develop inward qualities, since our happiness is based on having the inward qualities.

2 Cor 4:10, 16,17 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. …. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Romans 9:20,21 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?

Our fulfillment in life comes by being a unique vessel that gives out the message on how to develop the inward qualities of Jesus Christ.

II Cor 3:2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.

I Peter 2:9; “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called out our of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Our differences in appearances, abilities, parentage, and environment are God’s special frames to highlight and amplify His unique work in us and His message to the world.

2 Cor 12:9,10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I Cor 1:27-31 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

God’s reputation is at stake in what we do with our appearance, abilities, parentage and environment.

Exo 4:11,12 The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

We need to make a commitment before God:

Recognize my lack of gratefulness for the way He is making me & repent.
Thank God for the way He has made me thus far, even the “ugly” parts.
Commit to cooperate with God in developing the fruit of the Spirit in your life. love, joy, peace longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self‑control.
Dedicate your life in being a servant to see these qualities developed in the life of others.

C. WE ARE A PEOPLE OF VICTORY ‑ SUCCESS!

Victory is to be the way of life for the believer!

Success is what God has for us!

We come to this place of success and victory by meditating and obeying God’s Word.

Joshua 1:8 “Do not let this book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Victory ‑ Overcoming ‑ success ‑ This is what God came to bring to our lives, not defeat and failure.

Luke 10:19 JESUS SAID: “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome ALL the power of the enemy, nothing will harm you.”

Be an overcomer!

Are you Born of God?

I John 5:4 ‑ “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. this is the victory that overcomes the world ‑ even our faith!

Then you are an overcomer!

As you feast on God’s Word and it becomes your guide, your “law” your you become successful ‑ victorious – successful.

As you submit to God’s Word, you submit to Jesus and He clothes us with His character ‑ His benefits ‑ His armor! ready to bring defeat to the enemy.

Let’s look at some areas of our life that will change as we meditate on God’s word and His ways become our ways … His ways become a way of Life for us:

YIELD EVERY AREA OF YOUR LIFE TO THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST

John 1:11‑13 – He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

We give our life to Him; He gives us all He is

Matthew 7:21‑23 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Saying He is our Lord is not enough!

We must DO the will of God ‑ or we are deceived!

This starts with yielding to His will. We must yield before we can do.

Romans 10:9 ‑ That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Certainly, or confession is unto salvation ‑ but you cannot continue to confess a lie or it will eventually become true, or you will reject it.

Our confession is the first step in yielding to God’s will.

SEEK TO OBEY THE LORD IN EVERY AREA OF YOUR LIFE, IF YOU FAIL IN AN AREA, MAKE YOUR CONFESSION IMMEDIATELY.

I John 1:9 –If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Remember ‑ conviction comes from the Holy Spirit; condemnation comes from the devil.

When God points out your error He always brings to you a solution and a “how to do it right next time”

KNOW HOW TO CRUCIFY THE FLESH AND RESIST THE DEVIL.

Romans 6:6‑7 – If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Body of sin is powerless, we are free

Romans 6:11 ‑ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

We are dead, but alive!

James 4:7 – Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Note the order ‑ submission to God first!

I Peter 5:8‑9 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Self-control? YES!!!

Alert? YES!!

Why? You’ll get devoured.

Satan does not take a day off from being your enemy ‑ neither should we take off from being a Child of God in our behavior!

MAINTAIN A DISCIPLINED LIFE.

Romans 12:1‑2 – Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

A key to victory! Knowing God’s will

I Cor. 9:27 ‑ No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Your discipline your life not to gain God’s favor or to prove your abilities, but our earthly appetites are so compelling that a man could be a preacher of righteousness and never be a child of God.

How would we know this?

By his discipline!

A lover of the world more than God!

CULTIVATE A RENEWED MIND.

ROMANS 8:5‑7 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

Our minds must be changed from what they were

ROMANS 12:1,2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Before we were born‑Again.

II COR. 10:3‑5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

The battle is in our minds.

PROV 3:5 ‑Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

There must be something wrong with our understanding!

EPHESIANS 4:22‑24 ‑ You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

BE CONTINUOUSLY FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.

ACTS 1:8 ‑ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

EPH. 5:18 ‑ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

LUKE 11:13 ‑ If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

LIVE BY THE WORD OF GOD.

ROMANS 1:16,17 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

The Gospel
The Word of God brings into our life the power of God.
Are we ashamed of what it says?

Do we believe it?

If we believe it and are not ashamed of it, we will do it and live by it!

MATT 4:4 ‑ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

His Word is our Life!

DEVELOP A STRONG DYNAMIC FAITH.

ROMANS 10:17 – Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Hear God’s Word!

Do you have ears to hear?

How do you hear?

MARK 4:24 – “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.

Be careful with what you hear!

LUKE 8:18 – Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.”

Be careful how you hear!

CULTIVATE RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS

MATT 18:15‑20 – “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

If we have something against someone our whole life as a believer will be hindered!

I JOHN 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

What happens when we walk in the light?

I JOHN 2:9‑11 – Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

Our relationships show our spiritual condition!

SUBMIT TO THOSE GOD HAS PUT OVER YOU AND TO ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE AND HUMILITY.

HEB 13:17 ‑ Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

If it is not an advantage, it is a disadvantage!

EPH 5:21 –Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

What does reverence to Christ have to do with submission to one another?

He bought us all with his blood ‑ we are one body ‑ his body!

I PETER 5:5‑6 – Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

God will only lift up the humble! Those who walk in submission.

PUT ON THE ARMOUR OF GOD

EPH 6:10‑18 ‑ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

PRAY IN THE SPIRIT.

ROMANS 8:26‑27 – In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

Let the Holy Spirit pray when we do not know how to pray.

I COR 14:2,4,14 – For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. …. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. …. For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.

You speak to God not man ‑ a mystery to your understanding ‑ but not your spirit.

You edify yourself ‑ build up, strengthen your spirit man

Is strengthened although your mind ‑ natural thinking is unfruitful

JUDE 20 –But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.

Praying in tongues ‑ in the Spirit builds up your faith!

MAINTAIN A DAILY PRAYER LIFE.

MATT 6:9‑13 ‑ “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

PRAISE & WORSHIP DAILY.

ISA 61:3 ‑ and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

That’s us!

ISA 60:18 – No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.

Gates ‑ praise

HEB 13:15 ‑ Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.

FAST REGULARLY TO KEEP THE “CUTTING EDGE” IN YOUR LIFE

MATT 6:16‑18 – “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

It’s between you and God.

ISA 58:3‑12 – ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

It’s not for you, but others!

Fasting is not twisting God’s arm Fasting is not a hunger strike to get God to do what you want Him to do!

USE YOUR WEAPONS OF DEFENSE

II COR 10:3‑5 – I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Our weapons have divine power our weapons come against false knowledge Our weapon is obedience to God’s Word

EPH 6:13‑17 ‑ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The armor of God put it on and use it!

HEBREWS 1:14 – Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Acknowledge the work of the angels as your defense.

USE YOUR WEAPONS OF ATTACK.

The Word of God
The Name of Jesus
The Holy Spirit
Prayer and Praise
A Biblical Confession ‑ Speak Truth.

D. A SPIRIT FILLED LIFE – BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT ‑

1. A “Kadesh” Walk

John 16:7‑15 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

Pray…. That this scripture will be fulfilled in our hearing today etc.

We are in a place of transition ….

When you are in a place of transition, you are in a place of decision!

I have a number of decisions to make ‑ so do you!

When God brings us to a place of decision, he desires to do a work in our hearts, to purify us ‑ set us apart ‑ consecrate us ‑ sanctify us!

Every time he brought Israel to a place of decision in the wilderness, it was at a place called Kadesh or Kadesh‑Barnea.

Numb. 13:1-26 (tell story)

The Lord said to Moses, ²“Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”

³So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. ⁴These are their names:

from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;

⁵ from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;

⁶ from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;

⁷ from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;

⁸ from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;

⁹ from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;

¹⁰ from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;

¹¹ from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;

¹² from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;

¹³ from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;

¹⁴ from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;

¹⁵ from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.

¹⁶These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)

¹⁷When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. ¹⁸See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? ²⁰How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)

²¹So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. ²²They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ²³When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. ²⁵At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.

²⁶They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.

Numb 13:27 ‑ 14:45

²⁷They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. ²⁸But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. ²⁹The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”

³⁰Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

³¹But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” ³²And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. ³³We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

14 That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. ²All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! ³Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. ⁶Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes ⁷and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. ⁸If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. ⁹Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

¹⁰But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. ¹¹The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? ¹²I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”

¹³Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. ¹⁴And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, O Lord, are with these people and that you, O Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵If you put these people to death all at one time, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, ¹⁶‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.’

¹⁷“Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: ¹⁸‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.’ ¹⁹In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”

²⁰The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. ²¹Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, ²²not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— ²³not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. ²⁴But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. ²⁵Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.”

²⁶The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ²⁷“How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. ²⁸So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: ²⁹In this desert your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. ³⁰Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. ³¹As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. ³²But you—your bodies will fall in this desert. ³³Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. ³⁴For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ ³⁵I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die.”

³⁶So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it— ³⁷these men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord. ³⁸Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.

³⁹When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. ⁴⁰Early the next morning they went up toward the high hill country. “We have sinned,” they said. “We will go up to the place the Lord promised.”

⁴¹But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed! ⁴²Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, ⁴³for the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.”

⁴⁴Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp. ⁴⁵Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.

Duet 1:43‑46 So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah. You came back and wept before the Lord, but he paid no attention to your weeping and turned a deaf ear to you. And so you stayed in Kadesh many days—all the time you spent there.

Numb 20:1‑ In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

Moses strikes rock instead of speaking to rock at Kadesh.

Numb 20:12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

“He did not trust in God enough to honor him at Kadesh!

Kadesh – a consecrated ‑ sanctified place.

Numb 7:1‑ When Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings. He also anointed and consecrated the altar and all its utensils.

Kadesh – when God brings us to a place of decision, he brings us to a “Kadesh”

When we are in that place of decision we must be led by the Spirit of God and not our fears, doubts, our own understanding!

Gal 5:13 ‑26

¹³You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Those who walk by the spirit are consecrated, they have been to Kadesh!

For you to be used of God you must take on the character of God – fruit,

You can’t do that while you are sitting still ‑ you must move out into what God has said to do so that he can prove and develop your character ‑ consecrate you!

God will put you to the fire! He will give you a task.

Example:

(This example is a prophetic word for us as a congregation and myself as your pastor.)

Ezra 1:1 (tell story)….5:1

Haggai 1:1-5 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:

²This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come for the Lord’s house to be built.’ ”

³Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: ⁴“Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”

⁵Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.

You are at a “Kadesh”!

Haggai 1:8

Remember Moses? Refer to Numb 20:12?

Read Haggai to…2:23

CONCLUSION:

Time for a decision ‑ do we recognize the ministry of the Holy Spirit to sanctify us?

Do you follow God by your natural understanding or are you led by the Spirit?

Are you in conflict with your natural man?

Is there a war? Who wins?

Do you manifest the fruit of the Spirit?

Do we allow him to stretch us so that he can deal with areas that are contrary to our “comfort zone”?

Are we willing to build as God has called us without reservation?

Do you desire to be God’s signet ring?

Galatians 5:25 “since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit!”

2. Being Led by The Spirit ‑ A Walk Of Faith

We are learning how to be led by the Spirit.

So far we’ve learned that God has for us a walk in “Kadesh”.

The work of the Holy Spirit that sanctifies us when we are at a place of decision he sets us apart to serve him, we can chose to follow or chose to go our own way if we chose our own we will not be fit for service, we will not be set apart, sanctified!

Being led of the spirit is also a walk of faith Israel had to have faith to enter the promised land, they had walk in the Spirit but they didn’t go in to the promised land because they did not walk in faith!

Hebrews 3:16‑19-4:1 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.

Walking in the Spirit and walking in faith is basically the same!

Do you desire to walk the walk of faith? The faith walk?

a. What Is A “Faith Walk”?

A faith walk is walking out the Word of God … Doing … Living …

Saying what the Word of God says!!!

The faith walk is a walk of victory ‑ who defeated the Israelites?

They did through their unbelief!

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Faith brings surety to what we hope for, K.J.V says to what we hope for it brings hope into spiritual reality faith brings hope to the present tense ….

Now when did salvation come?

When you hoped you might be saved or believed by faith that you were saved?

You believed that when you prayed to receive Jesus, that you received Jesus, so you walk it out the same way … You confess that you are saved … And there is no doubt that you are!

Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Believe that you have received!

Act as if you have already received them, or be in the same state of mind that you would be in if you have already received them!

This is rest ‑ contentment! We can rest in what the Word of God promises!

As in ‑ John 3:16… For salvation

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

As in –

Matt 8:16‑17 ‑ “When evening came, many who were demon possessed were brought top him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took our infirmities and carried our diseases’.

For deliverance from Satan and diseases.

As in ‑ 1 Peter 2:24 –

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

For healing

As in ‑ James 1:5 –

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

For wisdom

As in ‑ 3 John 2 –

I pray that you may enjoy good health, and that all may go well (prosper) with you even as your soul is getting well (prospers).

For health and prosperity

As in ‑ Luke 4:18 –

The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

To heal our hearts to bring deliverance to give sight to set us free and give us God’s favor!!!

As in ‑ Galatians 3:29

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

For all of Abraham’s blessing!

As in ‑ 2 Cor. 1:20

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are yes in Christ. And so through him the amen (so be it) is spoken by us to the glory of God.

For all the promises of God are answered yes!

That’s the faith walk ‑ believing you have received the promises of his Word taking his Word for what he has said and applying it to your life!

b. What Hinders Our Faith Walk?

We are a receiver from God … He gives we receive …

We receive these promises that have been mentioned.

We receive direction, instruction, correction, discipline, blessing etc.

But ‑ if we are not receiving form God there must be a problem!

(remember receiving is based on the scriptural definition of receiving, it starts with an attitude of heart, a state of mind, “believing you receive before you see it”

If we are not receiving where is the problem?

In God?

In us?

God does not fail! He performs his Word.

But many times we are unable to receive example of a T.V. …….

God ‑ transmitter

Us ‑ receiver

Blessing, promise, direction ‑ picture on t.v.

If we are not receiving a proper picture, there are four possible problems in receiving what we’ve asked from God:

Poor Atmospheric Conditions ‑ Such As Weather.

This is caused by satanic forces, or attack.

Eph. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

(principalities & powers)

Eph 2:2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

Ruler of the kingdom of the air ‑ Satan

Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion does what?

The thief comes to do what? Steal, kill & destroy!

Jesus gives a solution:

Mark 3:27 … No man can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man, then he can rob the house.

We need to bind the strong man!

We need to resist him.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Submit yourself to God & resist him.

Eph 6:11‑17 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

We need to have our armor on …all of it.

We have been given the authority to defeat Satan ‑

Luke 9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,

Disciples were given authority over all devils.

Luke 10:19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Given power over all the power of the enemy.

Mark 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

Casting out devils will be a sign of those who believe.

Distractions Or Interceptions ‑ Such As Mountains Chimneys Etc

This is caused by the cares of this world, worry, deceitfulness of wealth.

Matt. 13:7 & 22 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. …. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.

Luke 12:29 ‑ Do not set your heart on what you shall eat or drink, do not worry about it”

Matt 6:33 ‑ But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these thing shall be added unto you!

I Peter 5:7 ‑ Cast all your care, anxiety, upon him, for he cares for you.

Interference … Such as sewing machines, electrical equipment etc.

This is caused by fear ‑ inter ‑ fear ‑ ences

This is unbelief or doubt.

There are two types of unbelief:

First ‑ A lack of knowledge of God’s Word.

Hosea 4:6 ‑ my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.

Second ‑ Disobedience towards God’s Word

Hebrew 4:6 & 11 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. …. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

Fear is the opposite of faith.

Peter when he walked on the water did not begin to sink until he looked at the waves and became afraid ‑ fearful Jesus’ response to him was ” oh ye of little faith! Why did you doubt?”

It’s obvious ‑ he was afraid ‑ fear is doubt, fear is unbelief, but perfect love casts out fear … We need to have the heart of God ‑ the love of God – agape.

But our natural man will fight against that kind of love and that kind of faith.

Mark 9:14‑29 – When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” “O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

Unbelief is controlled ‑ dispelled by prayer and fasting!

Unbelief comes out of the old nature and it needs to be out in its place ‑ crucified!!

A dirty receiver … Tuner is dirty needs cleaning sin!

Whatsoever is not of faith is sin! –

Rom. 14:23 But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

Rom. 6:12 ‑Therefor do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its evil desires!

Hebrews 12:1 ‑… Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Sin separates us from God!

If we regard iniquity in our heart the Lord will not hear me!

Psa 66:18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;

How do we expect to receive if he does not hear us due to sin?

But 1 John 1:9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

We need top guard our minds …

Keep them clean, that’s where the sin starts, and think on what God says to think on

Our Faith Walk Must Be Balanced –

How do we walk a balanced faith walk?

1. By the Word of God ‑ the written logos, God’s personal word to your heart (rhema, revelation) must always agree with the written word, or it is not from God!

They must be in total agreement!

John 15:7 ‑ If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you.

It is the word of God that even establishes our faith that’s how it comes! The word is our balance, if you pray according to the word, your prayer is balanced.

What about those things you don’t have a proof text for?

Make sure it is your spirit that directs the prayer and not your soul (mind will, emotions) or your body.

If you are born again the spirit of God is alive in you and will direct your path!

The Spirit of God is always in agreement with God’s word our inward man should direct the prayer of faith.

By the love of God … Agape

Gal. 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

1 John 4.18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

1 Cor 13:1‑3 – If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Paul speaks as if you could have the faith to do all these things by faith!

But without love they count for nothing!

Many have done great works of faith, but if our motivation is not sacrificial love it counts for nothing!

So, the balance is this:

The Word of God (both rhema & logos) + agape love = a victorious balance faith walk whereby you will then be walking in the spirit of God.

E. THE CROSS COMES BEFORE THE RESURRECTION

John 19 ‑ 20:18 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. ²The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe ³and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face. ⁴Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” ⁵When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” ⁶As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” ⁷The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” ⁸When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” ¹¹Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” ¹²From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

¹³When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). ¹⁴It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. ¹⁵But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. ¹⁶Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. ¹⁷Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). ¹⁸Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. ¹⁹Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. ²⁰Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. ²¹The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” ²²Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” ²³When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. ²⁴“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, “They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” So this is what the soldiers did. ²⁵Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” ²⁷and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

²⁸Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. ³⁰When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. ³¹Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. ³²The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. ³³But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. ³⁵The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. ³⁶These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” ³⁷and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

³⁸Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. ³⁹He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. ⁴⁰Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. ⁴¹At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. ⁴²Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ²So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” ³So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. ⁸Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

¹⁰Then the disciples went back to their homes, ¹¹but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹²and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. ¹³They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. ¹⁵“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” ¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). ¹⁷Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” ¹⁸Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

In the Word of God, we have before us truth ‑ principles ‑ laws of the Spirit, laws of order ‑ divine laws

We desire to see our lives in divine order ‑ godly order.

I want to share with you the most misunderstood order of things that man has in regards to his life as a believer.

That is that before we have resurrection life, we must surrender to the price of a crucified life ‑

The cross many of the disciples of Jesus did not understand this, they assumed that Jesus had come to set up his throne, to overtake the roman empire and bring Israel out from under the roman rule.

Matthew 16:21‑28 ²¹From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. ²²Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” ²³Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” ²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. ²⁶What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. ²⁸I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Jesus knew that the cross must come first ‑ before victory there must be a crucifixion.

If a Christian is lacking in victory in their life is it because they have not fully surrendered to the cross of Jesus Christ?

We must hear and do his will.

We cannot do this unless we are totally surrendered to jesus!

Mark 8:34‑38! ³⁴Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. ³⁶What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? ³⁷Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

The cross‑ your cross

The cross is the place to always begin ‑ if you skip it, you will fail and you

Will be selfishly motivated!

Jesus knew this ‑

Hebrews 2:9‑18 ⁹But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. ¹⁰In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. ¹¹Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. ¹²He says,

“I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.” ¹³And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.” ¹⁴Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— ¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. ¹⁶For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. ¹⁷For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

The cross brought power into Jesus’ life to destroy the works of the enemy.

Is it any different for us?

The cross brings power to your life ‑

I Cor 1:17-18 “for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel; not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross be emptied of its power. For The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God!”

A person who has identified with the cross no longer live for themselves, but for Christ!

2 Cor. 5:14‑15 “for Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for them who died for them and was raised again.”

You are not your own, but you have been bought with a price!

This does not mean we sit and wallow in our suffering and commit ascetic practices to make ourselves holy before God what it means is that our life is totally at the disposal of God to do with as he pleases ‑ he is our master, we are his slaves.

If that bothers you, then you are not crucified with Christ! Dead men aren’t bothered.

Didn’t Jesus say:

Matt 6:19‑20 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Does he mean it?

Didn’t Jesus say?

Luke 12:33 “Do not be afraid little flock, for you father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted…”

Does he mean it?

If this is not what he said then what does he mean?

Matt 16:24 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

Does he mean it? If not, why did he say it!!

God is calling us to action to present his word of freedom to this community.

The only thing that will hinder it is our selfishness and lack of repentance!

Luke 14:1‑35 ¹ One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. ²There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. ³Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” ⁴But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. ⁵Then he asked them, “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?” ⁶And they had nothing to say. ⁷When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: ⁸“When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. ⁹If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. ¹⁰But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. ¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹²Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” ¹⁵When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁶Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. ¹⁷At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ ²¹“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ²²“ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ ²³“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”

²⁵Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ²⁶“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. ²⁷And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ²⁸“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? ²⁹For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, ³⁰saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ ³¹“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³²If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. ³³In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. ³⁴“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? ³⁵It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

It is time to put down our selfish ambitions and get about our Father’s business!

We need to lay hold of this area for the Lord no matter what the price ‑ ridicule …persecution … Jail … Accusations .. Whatever to get the gospel to this community.

Diplomatic tolerance of sin and false teaching has not brought this community to Christ.

The status que has not brought this community to Christ what will?

An army of crucified disciples ready to pay whatever price to reach the people of West Chester and beyond.

It’s time for battle! It’s time for assault on the kingdom of darkness and bring into reality the power of the cross and resurrection into the streets, the homes, the campuses of West Chester. Whatever the price!

Before there is victory there must be an army sold out, crucified, and walking in the resurrected life.

Are we willing to be part of that army?

We need to repent and then call this community to repentance!

Speak out beyond these walls the message of the gospel!

Bring the truth of God’s Word “in the face” of a sinful community.

To be salt … To be an “a-salt team” the a-salt team are you ready?

To get ready we must first repent,

Humble ourselves before our resurrected Lord and then ask forgiveness for our selfishness, then commit ourselves to put his work first in all that we do.

II. DEVELOPING GODLY RELATIONSHIPS

I Thess 5:23,24 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

We need to develop proper, Godly relationships.

A. WHAT QUALITIES MUST I HAVE TO DEVELOP PROPER RELATIONSHIPS?

What foundation do I build on?

Be a friend of God –

James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

Be like Jesus towards all men –

John 15:15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Give what God has given you to others.

What has God given you?

Do you spread it around?

Have a clear conscience – transparent.

I Tim. 1:18‑19 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.

Fight w/ faith & good conscience!

A clear conscience is…

The inner freedom of spirit and assurance from knowing that you have a transparency towards everyone; that no one is able to point a finger at you and accuse you of wrongs toward him that you have never made right.

A clear conscience is not an option.

A sensitive conscience is the mark of a mature Christian –

Hebrews 5:13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.

Acts 24:16 So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

A clear conscience was Paul’s goal.

Our witness will be effective

1 Peter 3:16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

A clear conscience keeps us healthy

Psalms 32:1‑4 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah

Rationalization will hinder a clear conscience, pride must die!

Our minds will always try to devise a plan to keep pride alive our pride will us from making things right.

We will make excuses and rationalize why we don’t need to make things right.

How to gain a clear conscience ‑

Remember the areas of offense that you have caused to others. Use your own memory or the Word of God will cause you to recall.

Consider your words before you speak, they are important.

Prodigal son rehearsed his words of repentance before he went to his father. Why?

Because your heart will lead you to pride and blame shifting!

1). Don’t blame or pass on guilt.

2). Speak your need to be forgiven.

3). Your words must identify the basic offense ‑ be specific!!

NOT “If I offended you, then will you forgive me?”

BUT “Since I did not show you the respect (love, gratefulness etc.) I should have, will you forgive me?”

Your words must reflect full repentance & sincere humility

Put yourself in their place and relive the offense from their side!

During this time pride will attempt to rescue from this difficult task!

Beware of proud attitudes that speak such as:

“I was wrong, but so were you” reflects pride & bitterness
“I am sorry, but it wasn’t all my fault” not accepting responsibility for what happened.
“I’m sorry” with no mention of the offense.
“If I’ve been wrong, please forgive me” We imply, “If my personality (which I’m not responsible for) has offended you, then I’ll be big hearted and assume it’s my fault (which I’m not fully convinced it is) and ask you to forgive me; If you still think I’m wrong that is.”
“I’m sorry about ___________ , please forgive me”

One of the hardest things to say is “I was wrong”, it’s a lot easier to say “I’m sorry about _______________”

Proper approach

Personal visit ‑ eye to eye best

By phone if they are out of the area

Letters are unwise

Wait for the right time for them ‑ you always be ready

It is important that they respond ‑ ” i was wrong when i did __________________, will you forgive me? Wait for their response!

B. HOW DO I CHOSE MY FRIENDS?

4 Commitments you need to have.

1. Purpose that those who love Jesus will love you and those who hate Christ will hate you. Not because of you, but because of Christ. If anyone hates you, it should only be because they hate Jesus in you. If anyone loves you, it should only be because they love Jesus in you.

2. Purpose your walk so that those who like you will be drawn to Jesus.

3. Purposefully and verbally identify yourself with Christ.

4. Purpose to let God choose your friends, not based on selfish needs and interests, but on their needs!

This is what Jesus did ‑ he is our example!

C. HOW DO I DEVELOP CLOSE FRIENDS?

1. Become accountable to one another.

We all need someone we are accountable to other than our spouse.

Hebrews 3:13 –But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Daily we need someone to examine our lives and speak to us.

We won’t receive it from anybody!

We must make opportunity for accountability to happen it won’t be automatic!

There are over 15 one another commands in the bible:

Love, be of the same mind, serve, provoke to love, provoke to good works, be kind, submit, forbearing, forgiving, admonishing, comforting, edifying, exhorting, confess your faults ‑ sins, pray, have compassion, use hospitality.

Accountability must be based on an agreement of goals between one another.

Agree to:

Tame your tongue
Have financial freedom
Overcome sin
Godly home
Applying the word
Learning God’s word
Become a spiritual leader
Meeting spouse’s needs

Be willing to examine one another.

Who do I choose?

Accountability should only be developed with those who are faithful.

2 Timothy 2:2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

Learn to talk wisely ‑ tame your tongue, give it to God, conflicts arise from what we say!

If our tongues are tamed ‑ our hearts are being corrected!

If we can control our tongue ‑ our whole body can be controlled speak wholesome words & conversation

D. WHAT ABOUT INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS AND DATING?

What is the purpose of dating?

What is dating?

The pairing off of two people of the opposite sex away from group activities.

To choose a partner in life, a spouse.

How do you know you are spiritually prepared to date?

Not by age, but when certain questions can be honestly answered three questions:

What are the consequences and dangers of dating?

Lasciviousness ‑ the tendency to excite lustful desires.

Concupiscence ‑ a state of bondage that comes when there is strong abnormal desire.

Defrauding ‑ to arouse physical desires never intending to fulfill them.

Have you personally set up scriptural standards in dating?

Have you purposed in your heart that you will not lower your standards even if it means losing the date?

Be committed to 1 Thessalonians 5:23!

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How do I discern God’s will concerning my life’s partner?

You need to make 6 major decisions:

Decisions # 1 ‑ I will only date and marry a growing Christian.

2 Cor 6:14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

Ask yourself ‑ is he/she a Christian?

False rationalizations:

“He’s not a Christian, but he’s sure a nice guy.”
- “He’s a better gentleman than most Christians I’ve dated.”
- “He’s not a Christian because he doesn’t want to be a hypocrite.”
- “We have so much in common other than religion.”
- “he wants our children to go to church.”
- “I think he’s open. Maybe I can witness on our dates.”
- “I told him he had to be a Christian, so he accepted Christ.”

What will happen?

An incomplete marriage ‑ the most essential aspect of a total marriage is lost when there is no spiritual union or basis for spiritual intimacy. The man must be the spiritual leader.

Decision # 2: I will relate dating and marriage to God’s purpose for my life.

Col 1:28‑29 We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

Ask yourself: What is my life goal?

False rationalizations:

“He’s a little shy about religious things.”
“It never seems in place to talk about god or pray on dates.”
“After marriage we’ll get active in the lord’s work.”
“We’re only young once.”
“Another Christian wronged him so he’s not active at church.”
“I don’t want him to think I’m a religious fanatic.”

What will happen?

Goal frustrations ‑ without clearly defined life goals there is little basis for making important decisions in dating or marriage.

Decision # 3: I will not defraud the one I date.

1 Thessalonians 4:3‑8 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Ask yourself: Do we have self‑control?

False rationalizations:

“What’s wrong with proving and expressing our love for each other.”
“He’s got a few bad habits, but no one is perfect.”
“He thinks some Christians are too strict.”
“Dating standards are different today.”
“I should break up, but I don’t want to hurt him.”

What will happen?

Self‑Condemnation; Guilt and blame over wrong standards in dating carry into the marriage and become the source for many petty arguments and communication breakdown.

Decision # 4: Both of us must be in harmony at home ask yourself:

Do we get along at home with our families?

False rationalizations:

“He says i’m the only one he can talk to.”
“I think his parents are too strict.”
“He’s got a real temper, but he holds it around me.”
“When he leaves home, things will be much better.”

What will happen?

Conflicts transfer from parent’s home to newly-weds home.

A man tends to treat his wife as he treated his mother.
A wife tends to respond to her husband as she did to her father.

The way each kept their room is the way each may keep house

Decision # 5: I will wait for God’s timing in our marriage.

Gen 29:20 So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

Ask yourself: Is this the right time, God’s time?

Do I have our parent’s consent?

Are we financially prepared?

Are we finished our basic education?

False rationalizations:

“We’re old enough to make our own decisions.”
“We’ll manage somehow.”
“We’ll finish school together.”

What will happen?

There will be tension and worry ‑ dangerous stress is added to the marriage.

Impatience is a sign of self‑love or immaturity. Love can always wait to give.

Decision # 6: I yield my right to date and marry God.

I Cor 7:32‑34 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband.

Matt 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Ask yourself: Have I sought the Lord concerning my state in life as a single or married and surrendered it to him?

Your goal will be then to have undistracted concentration on Christ and his work.

I Cor 7:35‑38 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. If anyone thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if she is getting along in years and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does even better.

What will happen if violated?

Spiritual immaturity; essential training & experience are lost when the responsibilities of a premature marriage crowd out significant Christian activities.

The result of making these 6 decisions:

God’s fulfillment of your deepest needs and God will bring into your life a happier and more effective relationship with him and the spouse he chooses for you if his desire is for you to be married.

Conclusion:

Relationships are to be handled through the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

We must first have a viable healthy relationship with our Lord Jesus, then all relationship will be profitable not only for ourself, but those whom God brings into our lives.

III. DIVINE ORDER IN THE HOME

I Tim. 3:4‑5 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)

God wants our homes to be in order

Our lives are a reflection of where we really are in our growth and walk with God.

Many have a lot of ideas and plans for the church, but their homes are not in order.

What is an ordered home?

What is our standard?

Is it what is acceptable by the status que? The world? Your family? Your friends? Other Christians?

What do we use to measure our home?

God’s word!

The character of Jesus Christ must be evident in our home ‑ godliness at all times ‑ at all costs!

But most Christian homes fall short of the biblical standards.

Children dishonor their parents and rule the home.
The philosophy of the world is the standard of what is allowed within your home.
Ungodly characteristics are revealed as husband, wife and children speak and respond to one another.

If Jesus was married to your spouse would he speak to her/him the way you speak to her/him?

If Jesus had your mom and dad, would he speak to them, treat them the way you do?

If Jesus was the parent of your children, would he treat them the way you do?

Jesus is our standard!!!

What makes your home different from the unbelievers next door?

What shall we do to make our homes a place of honor for God?

This morning I want to share three areas we must look at to put our homes in biblical, divine order:

A. We must recognize the sin problem within our homes.

B. We must learn to communicate.

C. We must learn to respect marriage and place it in biblical order.

A. WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE SIN PROBLEM WITHIN OUR HOMES.

We do fail and must admit to our failure to one another within our homes.

We must do something about our failures ‑ repentance and forgiveness.

There must be a willingness to grow out of the natural sin patterns that are in our homes.

B. WE MUST LEARN TO COMMUNICATE

Ephesians 5:22‑25 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

Ephesians 6:1‑4 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

This describes relationships as they should be in the home.

For this to be in our home we must learn to communicate.

Guidelines for communication.

Ephesians 4:25‑32 ²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

²⁹Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³²Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

As these traits are developed in our homes, our homes will become a place of honor a place of refuge, a sanctuary and not a battle ground, or a place of contention.

v. 25 Put off what is false, speak the truth, we are one member, be honest with one another, your home must be a place where lies are not found, and truth can be spoken without fear of rejection of false judgement.

V. 26 Anger can be handled two ways ‑ blowing up or clamming up.

Proverbs 25:28 “like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.”

Proverbs 29:11,22 “A fool gives full vent of his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control. …. An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot tempered one commits many sins.”

Families suffer greatly from the effects of words spoken in anger or deeds done in anger.

There is no place for losing your temper in the Christian home.

The world says: ” Vent your anger.”

But God says:

Romans 15:1‑2; “we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.”

Families also suffer when someone clams up, and lets the sun go down on their wrath. Separation, silent treatment, etc. Punishing the family with your silence and separation.

To keep from blowing up or clamming up you must be willing to communicate

v. 25 The home is a place to work ‑ a sharing of responsibilities God did not give you children so that you could entertain them, but to train and them and teach them to serve others.

Selfish living habits are either reinforced or rooted out in the home. Put your children to work ! !

Let them know they are of value to the welfare of the family.

They must realize that the world and all who are in it are not there to serve them!

v. 29 Do not allow cut downs ‑ verbal attacks, disrespectful remarks or attitudes.

Our words should and must build up, not tear down.

V. 30 Respect one another’s walk with God and allow him to teach each member of your family

V. 31 Get rid of, This means you do it!!! And it is possible!!!

C. WE MUST LEARN TO RESPECT MARRIAGE AND PLACE IT IN BIBLICAL ORDER

God ordained marriage. Marriage is not an option, it’s God’s plan. There is no place for a romantic, sexual relationship outside of marriage! ! !

Marriage is good it was instituted before the fall, it was part of God’s perfect plan. The woman was to be the helpmeet ‑ helper of the man.

Her attributes would complement his, they were made to work together, not in strife and competition.

Marriage is permanent in this life. The child-parent relationship is temporary. The husband-wife relationship is permanent:

Genesis 2:34; “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”

“The best way to be a good father to your children is to be a good husband to their mother.”

Therefore, children must be kept in the proper perspective.

Children need parents who love each other more than they need $, things, fancy house, clothes, etc. The children’s relationship with their parents is temporary.

Cultivate continually your relationship with your spouse. Date regularly ‑ without the kids. Do things together!

Follow the biblical pattern of the relationships in a family.

Wives are to be in submission to their husbands.

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

Husbands are to love their wives. Live for them, willing to die for them!

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Show loving leadership be the leader of your home in the love of God.

What is biblical leadership?

By example … Be a servant … Put others first … Train others to take your place.

Ephesians 1:12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

Over everything for the church … Over everything for the wife

Children are to be in biblical order.

V. 4 God speaks to the fathers .. Why ?

Fathers do have a tendency to exasperate their children mainly because fathers are responsible for the actions of the children mothers may do more, or be more involved, but fathers are responsible.

The father has the authority.

I Tim 3:4‑5 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?).

What exasperates children? = Underdiscipline

Such as, an unannounced rule that is made known after they were broken. Or, “If you do ____ your going to get a spanking” the child does ______ and there is no spanking, what happens?

Rules change day by day, child is confused, angry

Example:

Little Mary comes home with pretty flowers for mommy. She comes in across the newly waxed floor with muddy shoes expecting mommy to be overjoyed with the flowers, instead mommy tears her apart verbally and swatted on the rear.

Child’s reaction is “I try to be nice to mommy and I get murdered”

Mother rethinks her actions and realizes she was wrong. Mother could have recouped by admitting her wrong to little Mary but she didn’t.

This leads to even worse results.

Next day little Mary does something really serious, lies, talks back, but because her mother overpunished her yesterday, today her mommy lets her get away with murder!

What does the child think?

One day I get murdered for being nice, the next day I get away with murder! ? I might as well do what I want, I never know where I stand.”

Children need rules, they need to know their limits. They will know that if they do this, mom and dad are going to do that.

When they are tempted in the neighborhood to do something against mom & dad’s rules, they don’t have to wonder whether or not they just might get away with it. What security!!!

Why do parents move the boundaries, change the rules?

One day you count to 3, the next day there’s no counting, another day you just ignore what they do!

Why do we do this?

Laziness

Discipline takes time.

If we under-discipline our children will become angry

Over-discipline ‑

We have a standard of conduct, the word of God.

We desire to uphold those standards with our children and many times we overdo it.

The Bible says that the commands of the Lord are not grievous, therefore neither should our commands to our children.

Many times over-discipline can make children angry. If we react against the world’s standards instead of acting according to the Word of God.

For example, you want to discourage back talk, therefore you will discipline your child when they do.

If the discipline is too harsh it may not only stop the back talk, but the child may be afraid to talk at all.

Eph 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

How do we keep from exasperating our children?

Bring them up in the training and instruction of who?

The Lord!

The discipline that a child receives is to be the Lord’s discipline.

God has given us models through his Word as to how he ministers discipline to those he loves.

To be an effective parent, you must know God and his ways.

There is only one way to do that … Read the Bible.

CONCLUSION:

I. We Must Recognize The Sin Problem Within Our Homes.

II. We Must Learn To Communicate

III. We Must Learn To Respect Marriage And Place It In Biblical Order

The Dreaming Revolutionary

ESTABLISHING DIVINE ORDER IN OUR LIVES (A SERIES)

I. WHO ARE WE? (Our Callings And Purpose In Life)

A. WE NEED TO KNOW OUR PURPOSE IN LIFE

B. DEVELOPING A GODLY SELF IMAGE ‑

C. WE ARE A PEOPLE OF VICTORY ‑ SUCCESS!

D. A SPIRIT FILLED LIFE – BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT ‑

1. A “Kadesh” Walk

2. Being Led by The Spirit ‑ A Walk Of Faith

E. THE CROSS COMES BEFORE THE RESURRECTION

II. DEVELOPING GODLY RELATIONSHIPS

A. WHAT QUALITIES MUST I HAVE TO DEVELOP PROPER RELATIONSHIPS?

B. HOW DO I CHOSE MY FRIENDS?

C. HOW DO I DEVELOP CLOSE FRIENDS?

D. WHAT ABOUT INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS AND DATING?

III. DIVINE ORDER IN THE HOME

A. WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE SIN PROBLEM WITHIN OUR HOMES.

B. WE MUST LEARN TO COMMUNICATE

C. WE MUST LEARN TO RESPECT MARRIAGE AND PLACE IT IN BIBLICAL ORDER

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Dreamin Revolutionary – Don Davis

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