Vindicating His Holiness: Glorified in You
Ezekiel 36: 16-27, 31-32
I. Introduction
-Never let the sacred become common.
-Your life is a reflection of who God is.
-Does it reflect the true nature of God.
-New Christians base their lives on the "Christian" lives they see modeled before them.
-Don't let God's holiness become watered down or common in your life.
II. Scripture
III. Profaning of God's Name
-The church has faltered in the proclamation of the truth.
1. She has replaced the power of the Holy Spirit with charisma, programs, & human talents.
2. Being a holy people just didn't seem very practical (or appealing).
-Sermons being preached all over the nation today are being used to justify/ excuse sin rather than solve the problem of sin.
1. Ppl have perverted the love of God to approve of their sins.
2. Ppl have disgraced the blood of Jesus/forgiveness b/c of their wickedness.
-Problem of self - love
-The greatest abomination in the church is the gross infatuation w/ self.
-Know why Christians won't forgive Christians? B/c pride won't allow it.
-Know why there is division in church? B/c...
1. I can't understand why you don't love me just as much as I love me!
2. I think my way is the best way!
3. We don't work that way... we're looking for God's way!
-We are all consumed w/ our needs, wants, schedules, etc... and if the church doesn't support that (meet me needs) then I'll leave!
-Point: You may have seen nasty church splits, scandalous church fights, self-centered & ego-driven agendas, hateful board members, two-faced hypocritical members, divisive/ gossiping/ back-biting/ slanderous church goers...
1. ...but don't accept that as the work of the Spirit.
2. ...that is the failing of the flesh!
-Billy Graham said: "The church has almost lost her moral authority to speak to the world."
-If you are lost/in sin then you are profaning His Holy name.
1. Why? B/c you are part of His creation.
2. He intends for his creation to be holy.
-v. 21 "But I had a concern for my holy name which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came."
IV. Ideal of the Lord
-When the disciples finally moved past self-love... then came Pentecost!
-Idea of not shaming Christ as Christian standard.
1. No, standard is glorifying Christ.
2. Not just abstain from sin, but do good!
-Paul said: "I die daily."
-"Crucified with Christ."
-Live beyond yourself.
1. Live with some inconvenience for the sake of others.
2. Be willing to put your comforts behind God's Will!
3. "The Cost of Discipleship"
-In the church we want God to be glorified/ make His name Holy!
1. You may have heard sermons saying otherwise (testimonies, ‘Bible' studies, lessons, etc.)
2. We preach the humanely impossible.
3. What is impossible w/ man is possible with God!
-Psalm 94:14 "For the Lord will not forsake his people; He will not abandon his heritage."
V. The Lord's Plan to Vindicate His Name
-vv. 22-23, 25-27
-The plan involves God working in your life!
-Every once in a while there is an individual who's very life brings glory to God.
1. Not a defect or error that the church produces (the defect is the shallow weak Christian we produce)
2. Seeking to glorify God (and actually doing it) in our lives is suppose to be the normal Christian experience!
3. Occasionally some seeking soul breaks through the form, programs, false/weak/shallow preaching, complacency , etc. and finds the Christ who formed the world!
4. Some push through the crowds of religious patrons, false doctrines, & sinful hypocrites to the cross of Jesus that has been tucked away in a corner!
-You must die on that cross!
1. You must die to self, to live for Him!
2. Live for His glory, not your earthly desires!
-v. 36b "I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it."
VI. Real Examples...
-Our singers (Mike & Tonia Ward)...
-Larry P. & family
-David H. & family
-Richard & Linda T.
-Sammy L. & family
-Ernest D. & family
-Regena J.
-Ill. Return to Maysville
1. Friday went to Camp meeting.
2. Saw grandparents.
3. Went into the tabernacle.
4. This is where I made a decision to glorify God with all my life!
-The world will know that God reigns b/c of what He is doing in His people!
VII. Conclusion
-Will you glorify God in all your life?
-Your decision to live for the Lord, is your own; but it is not made in a vacuum. It affects everyone around you!
-God wants to use you to show who He is to your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, & church family.
Response: Lord, Be Glorified
Showing posts with label holiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiness. Show all posts
Monday, November 16, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
What More Do I Lack?
Matthew 19:16-22
What More Do I Lack?: What More Christians Need
I. Introduction
-Ill. Put together a puzzle.
1. Only one piece missing.
2. How annoying!
-I may describe you this morning.
-The yearning in your heart.
1. ...for something more.
2. ...for completion.
-I wish to speak to Christians who are discontent.
1. Those who do not wish to play at religion.
2. Those who are tired of doing all the right things, but not making progress.
-Maybe you will identify with the young man in our Scripture this morning.
II. Scripture
III. Plague of Christianity
-There is among Christians today a discontentment.
-This discontent is not only with the way our world is going and is operating, but also w/ Christianity itself.
-Talk to people from different churches.
1. They are unsatisfied with life in general, they are distracted, restless, inconsistent, bored, shallow, naive about spiritual things.
2. And all this wells up deep w/in their soul.
-Sinners come into churches looking for something to fill the void of their life and we tell them about forgiveness (not adoption or regeneration) just about forgiveness.
1. So sinners "get that" and walk away w/out the void in their life filled.
2. Yet in all of our "religiousness" we cannot escape the nagging spiritual instinct that there is something more!
-"More than forgiveness?"
1. "Isn’t that all we have to have?"
2. Yes, but it is not all we should have.
-Point: But at the same time that we desire something more than what we have, we also bring with that a pessimism.
1. There is a cynicism that we cannot ever have what our souls ache for inside.
2. So we come to church hoping the preacher will give some key to a deeper spirituality.
3. Some key to the pressing & urgent need of our souls.
IV. Some Kind of Desire
-Our initial experience has worn off. Some of us are years & years removed from being born-again.
1. The fire that burned in our hearts has all but turned to heaps of ashes.
2. The passion (not emotional excitement) has dwindled to church attendance and spiritual chores.
-Can I stir the ashes looking for an ember of that is still glowing hot, holding on.
-I’m not talking about a rousing sermon to flare your emotions (that may occur).
1. I’m not talking about a pep talk before the big game.
2. I’m talking about that thing in your life, that you know, as a Christian you are missing, but you cannot quite put your finger on.
V. People Are Seeking More
-All of Christianity is seeking what you are seeking.
-If you are seeking, it is to you that I am speaking this AM.
-Go to a Christian book store and look at the best selling shelf.
1. Publishers sell only what will make money.
2. Ppl are seeking.
-Here are some of the titles and quotes from the jackets & backs of the books.
1. Mike Yaconelli, Messy Spirituality: "This book has been written for the silent majority of us who have been convinced that we just can’t do Christianity right."
2. Rick Warren, Purpose-Driven Life: "Make sure you’re not missing the point of your life. Read this book. The purpose-driven life will guide you to greatness."
3. Bruce Wilkerson, The Dream Giver: "Let Bruce Wilkerson show you how to rise above the ordinary, conquer your fears, overcome your obstacles that keep you from living your big dream."
4. Beth Moore, Believing Jesus: "Come, experience a fresh explosion of faith. God meant for His children to succeed. Are our Christian lives successful? Are they achieving and experiencing what Scripture said they would?"
5. John Ortberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted "What does true spirituality really look like? What keeps you from such a life? What can you do to pursue it? If you’re tired of the status quo – if you suspect that there’s more to Christianity than what you’ve experienced – John Ortberg points you to a road of transformation and spiritual vigor that anyone can take."
6. John Eldredge, Waking the Dead: "Here are four streams through which we can discover the abundant life" (John Eldredge Waking the Dead)
-The irony is, that while these authors all promise something more, they fail to deliver.
-Most, although a good read, are enmeshed in "good advice" rather than fulfilling your spiritual yearning.
-They do not believe that this side of heaven you can be restored into the divine image of God.
1. Colossians 3:10 "and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator."
2. Instead they do reconstructive surgery.
-They speak of trying to imitate Jesus; but do we believe that Jesus the Christ can be fully formed in you?
1. Galatians 4:19 "my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!"
2. Christians/Preachers today say the most you can hope for is being a "God-chaser," but do we believe that you can actually partake in the divine nature of God and escape the corruption that is in the world?
3. 2 Peter 1:4 "y which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."
4. They say you can only try to be holy, but can we actually share in God’s holiness?
5. Hebrews 12:10 "For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness."
VI. Holiness & Skepticism
-Allow me to put words to your desire this morning: holiness.
1. Yes, your cynicism just bubbled to the surface.
2. You would think in such a world as we live that the message of heart and life holiness would be popular!
3. But alas even the church has abandoned it today!
-Not only do we not believe in God’s ability to cleanse our hearts of sinfulness, but we also don’t believe in miracles, healings, prophetic words (preaching), or anything that demands more than the normal.
-The church has trouble believing in the miraculous work of God.
1. Transformational work of God.
2. Reformational work defined by the world.
-Point: We have adopted the world’s philosophy of therapy.
-Everybody just needs a little "Jesus" therapy.
1. We don’t believe that anybody ever gets over anything today!
2. Not sin, not addictive behaviors, not their hurtful past, not their homosexual tendency... nothing!
3. Nobody is cured.
-Some people go to their "counselors" for years never realizing any measurable or real healing or wholeness.
1. I’m not against seeing a counselor.
2. I’m against not seeing The Counselor!
VII. Christianity Begins with...
-Let’s not be too skeptical since the skeptics seem to be right.
-Christianity has become more of a title than a way of life.
1. I think every politician running for anything was a Christian!?
-So when this young man asks Jesus how to obtain eternal life (more than Heaven), Jesus says: you know the law... keep it.
-Christianity begins with obedience to Christ.
-And while that is where it begins, it certainly does not end there.
-Some of you here this morning have got that part of it down, but you , like the young man still have a hole in the middle of your faith.
1. It’s not that you don’t love Jesus, or don’t want to live for Him, or want to be a sinner.
2. It’s that there is something that is incomplete.
3. It’s why so many ppl sit through church and "feel" like there is something more.
-And it is terrifying for a preacher to preach holiness, b/c it seems so unlikely that you could be holy.
-So many Christians who are struggling & fighting for something they do not feel they can obtain.
VIII. Are You Lacking?
-Is it God’s design for you to be lacking in your spiritual life?
-Does "making it to Heaven" suddenly make you spiritually pure and mature?
-Maybe God has the proverbial carrot on the stick in front of us.
-"You can try, but you will never succeed."
-Ill. If I asked you to raise your hand this morning if you are right where you need to be, could you raise it?
1. Maybe some infected w/ spiritual pride.
2. Maybe some w/ spiritual ignorance.
3. Maybe some could say yes.
-But do you know what we will do?
1. We will walk right out of here sad.
2. Just like this young man.
3. We never confront the problem.
IX. Do you Want to be Perfect?
-The young man says I have kept all the law from my youth.
1. "What more do I lack?"
2. There it is, the discontent.
-v. 21 "Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.""
1. Perfect?
2. No way.
-I’m not here to define biblical perfection this morning, but maybe it’s a perfect love of God.
-Jesus "demands" of the young man are not a prescription for us but a principle for us.
-Point: Jesus will ask for the most valuable thing in your life.
-If you deny Him, you will go away sad.
1. You will carry your discontent into eternity.
2. The nagging instinct that something is missing may be able to be dismissed, but you will never escape it.
X. Conclusion
-I wonder if you would go away sorrowful today?
-I wonder if you would accept the words of Jesus.
-I wonder if you are sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit this morning & see what you may lack.
-Like the young man, ask "what more do I lack?"
-But unlike the young man, do not go away sad.
Response
What More Do I Lack?: What More Christians Need
I. Introduction
-Ill. Put together a puzzle.
1. Only one piece missing.
2. How annoying!
-I may describe you this morning.
-The yearning in your heart.
1. ...for something more.
2. ...for completion.
-I wish to speak to Christians who are discontent.
1. Those who do not wish to play at religion.
2. Those who are tired of doing all the right things, but not making progress.
-Maybe you will identify with the young man in our Scripture this morning.
II. Scripture
III. Plague of Christianity
-There is among Christians today a discontentment.
-This discontent is not only with the way our world is going and is operating, but also w/ Christianity itself.
-Talk to people from different churches.
1. They are unsatisfied with life in general, they are distracted, restless, inconsistent, bored, shallow, naive about spiritual things.
2. And all this wells up deep w/in their soul.
-Sinners come into churches looking for something to fill the void of their life and we tell them about forgiveness (not adoption or regeneration) just about forgiveness.
1. So sinners "get that" and walk away w/out the void in their life filled.
2. Yet in all of our "religiousness" we cannot escape the nagging spiritual instinct that there is something more!
-"More than forgiveness?"
1. "Isn’t that all we have to have?"
2. Yes, but it is not all we should have.
-Point: But at the same time that we desire something more than what we have, we also bring with that a pessimism.
1. There is a cynicism that we cannot ever have what our souls ache for inside.
2. So we come to church hoping the preacher will give some key to a deeper spirituality.
3. Some key to the pressing & urgent need of our souls.
IV. Some Kind of Desire
-Our initial experience has worn off. Some of us are years & years removed from being born-again.
1. The fire that burned in our hearts has all but turned to heaps of ashes.
2. The passion (not emotional excitement) has dwindled to church attendance and spiritual chores.
-Can I stir the ashes looking for an ember of that is still glowing hot, holding on.
-I’m not talking about a rousing sermon to flare your emotions (that may occur).
1. I’m not talking about a pep talk before the big game.
2. I’m talking about that thing in your life, that you know, as a Christian you are missing, but you cannot quite put your finger on.
V. People Are Seeking More
-All of Christianity is seeking what you are seeking.
-If you are seeking, it is to you that I am speaking this AM.
-Go to a Christian book store and look at the best selling shelf.
1. Publishers sell only what will make money.
2. Ppl are seeking.
-Here are some of the titles and quotes from the jackets & backs of the books.
1. Mike Yaconelli, Messy Spirituality: "This book has been written for the silent majority of us who have been convinced that we just can’t do Christianity right."
2. Rick Warren, Purpose-Driven Life: "Make sure you’re not missing the point of your life. Read this book. The purpose-driven life will guide you to greatness."
3. Bruce Wilkerson, The Dream Giver: "Let Bruce Wilkerson show you how to rise above the ordinary, conquer your fears, overcome your obstacles that keep you from living your big dream."
4. Beth Moore, Believing Jesus: "Come, experience a fresh explosion of faith. God meant for His children to succeed. Are our Christian lives successful? Are they achieving and experiencing what Scripture said they would?"
5. John Ortberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted "What does true spirituality really look like? What keeps you from such a life? What can you do to pursue it? If you’re tired of the status quo – if you suspect that there’s more to Christianity than what you’ve experienced – John Ortberg points you to a road of transformation and spiritual vigor that anyone can take."
6. John Eldredge, Waking the Dead: "Here are four streams through which we can discover the abundant life" (John Eldredge Waking the Dead)
-The irony is, that while these authors all promise something more, they fail to deliver.
-Most, although a good read, are enmeshed in "good advice" rather than fulfilling your spiritual yearning.
-They do not believe that this side of heaven you can be restored into the divine image of God.
1. Colossians 3:10 "and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator."
2. Instead they do reconstructive surgery.
-They speak of trying to imitate Jesus; but do we believe that Jesus the Christ can be fully formed in you?
1. Galatians 4:19 "my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!"
2. Christians/Preachers today say the most you can hope for is being a "God-chaser," but do we believe that you can actually partake in the divine nature of God and escape the corruption that is in the world?
3. 2 Peter 1:4 "y which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."
4. They say you can only try to be holy, but can we actually share in God’s holiness?
5. Hebrews 12:10 "For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness."
VI. Holiness & Skepticism
-Allow me to put words to your desire this morning: holiness.
1. Yes, your cynicism just bubbled to the surface.
2. You would think in such a world as we live that the message of heart and life holiness would be popular!
3. But alas even the church has abandoned it today!
-Not only do we not believe in God’s ability to cleanse our hearts of sinfulness, but we also don’t believe in miracles, healings, prophetic words (preaching), or anything that demands more than the normal.
-The church has trouble believing in the miraculous work of God.
1. Transformational work of God.
2. Reformational work defined by the world.
-Point: We have adopted the world’s philosophy of therapy.
-Everybody just needs a little "Jesus" therapy.
1. We don’t believe that anybody ever gets over anything today!
2. Not sin, not addictive behaviors, not their hurtful past, not their homosexual tendency... nothing!
3. Nobody is cured.
-Some people go to their "counselors" for years never realizing any measurable or real healing or wholeness.
1. I’m not against seeing a counselor.
2. I’m against not seeing The Counselor!
VII. Christianity Begins with...
-Let’s not be too skeptical since the skeptics seem to be right.
-Christianity has become more of a title than a way of life.
1. I think every politician running for anything was a Christian!?
-So when this young man asks Jesus how to obtain eternal life (more than Heaven), Jesus says: you know the law... keep it.
-Christianity begins with obedience to Christ.
-And while that is where it begins, it certainly does not end there.
-Some of you here this morning have got that part of it down, but you , like the young man still have a hole in the middle of your faith.
1. It’s not that you don’t love Jesus, or don’t want to live for Him, or want to be a sinner.
2. It’s that there is something that is incomplete.
3. It’s why so many ppl sit through church and "feel" like there is something more.
-And it is terrifying for a preacher to preach holiness, b/c it seems so unlikely that you could be holy.
-So many Christians who are struggling & fighting for something they do not feel they can obtain.
VIII. Are You Lacking?
-Is it God’s design for you to be lacking in your spiritual life?
-Does "making it to Heaven" suddenly make you spiritually pure and mature?
-Maybe God has the proverbial carrot on the stick in front of us.
-"You can try, but you will never succeed."
-Ill. If I asked you to raise your hand this morning if you are right where you need to be, could you raise it?
1. Maybe some infected w/ spiritual pride.
2. Maybe some w/ spiritual ignorance.
3. Maybe some could say yes.
-But do you know what we will do?
1. We will walk right out of here sad.
2. Just like this young man.
3. We never confront the problem.
IX. Do you Want to be Perfect?
-The young man says I have kept all the law from my youth.
1. "What more do I lack?"
2. There it is, the discontent.
-v. 21 "Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.""
1. Perfect?
2. No way.
-I’m not here to define biblical perfection this morning, but maybe it’s a perfect love of God.
-Jesus "demands" of the young man are not a prescription for us but a principle for us.
-Point: Jesus will ask for the most valuable thing in your life.
-If you deny Him, you will go away sad.
1. You will carry your discontent into eternity.
2. The nagging instinct that something is missing may be able to be dismissed, but you will never escape it.
X. Conclusion
-I wonder if you would go away sorrowful today?
-I wonder if you would accept the words of Jesus.
-I wonder if you are sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit this morning & see what you may lack.
-Like the young man, ask "what more do I lack?"
-But unlike the young man, do not go away sad.
Response
Monday, December 29, 2008
Through and Through
1 Thessalonians 5:15-24
Through and Through: Made Entirely Holy
I. Introduction
-Thessalonians could be the oldest book of the NT.
-It was written by the hand of a man who encountered Christ on a road to Damascus.
-Within the NT is the roots of all that we are as Christians
-When we step away from who we are, why do we think the results would be the same as those in the NT?
II. Scripture
III. Background
-This is not just some other doctrine, this is the Word of God.
1. Has it made a difference in your life?
2. Is it a reality in your life?
-Let's get the context.
-1 Thess. 1:1 "Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"
1. From Paul, Silas, & Timothy
2. To the church (called out... assembly) of Thessalonica.
3. "in God" (not ‘of God')
4. He is speaking to those who don't simply come to church, but those who are the church.
5. Paul is saying: "I want to talk to you who are really in God!"
-1 Thess 1:4 "For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,"
1. "chosen you" = not a verb, but a noun.
2. It is not talking about what God did, but what you have become.
3. Paul: "I want to talk to you about your election."
4. Not about ‘the act' but about the ‘state of being.'
-I'm not making a doctrinal statement here.
-I'm trying to point out who Paul is writing to...
1. Not people who simply attend church or perform religious duties, but ppl who have become the possession of God.
2. Ppl in whom God exists.
3. Not to people who have declared that God has elected them w/out basis.
4. Those who become the chosen of God, by His son's sacrifice.
-1 Thess 3:9 "For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God"
1. Different from Corinthians, these are good people!
2. No need for rebuke, b/c they are good Christians!
3. This is a good church, where God is working!
-1 Thess 3:10 "...as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?"
1. What!?
2. "lacking in your faith?"
3. Paul is saying: "You are such a blessing! And I am losing sleep at night praying for what you are lacking in your faith."
4. These people are in God, salvation is sure, farther along than most churches today, but they are lacking something in their faith.
-This church had a reputation b/c of what God had done in their midst.
-1 Thess 1:8-9 "For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. [9] For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God"
1. People w/ a real born-again experience.
2. A testimony of what God had done.
3. People serving the Lord.
4. They were exemplary Christians.
IV. What is Lacking?
-1 Thess 3:11-13 "Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, [12] and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, [13] so that he may establish your hearts faultless [blameless] in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints."
1. May God do a work in your heart that cleanses everything that might be between you & Him.
2. May He establish your heart so that you will have an absolute cleansing.
-Ill. Car Wash Options
1. First few are only partial.
2. Number five is a full body wash, waxing, & detailing.
-What are we lacking?
1. Forgiveness of our sins.
2. We've "cleaned up our act."
3. We're living for God.
-1 Thess 4:7-8 "For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. [8]There-fore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit [in]to you."
1. Not impurity, but in holiness.
2. You are not disregarding a man (preacher, etc.), but God.
-Ill. What is God doing in Salvation?
1. Ill. Your life = a room.
2. Born again = God coming in and cleaning out the room.
3. He chases the Devil out of the room.
4. Then you take over managing the room & keeping the Devil out.
5. And it is a pushing match w/ the Devil on one side of the door & you on the other.
6. You're just trying to repress sin, to manage/ control it.
7. So as you fight the Devil, you don't get to vacuum or dust or clean up the clutter.
8. What we need is to remove "me" from the room so that the Spirit of God can fill it completely & thus make it completely holy.
-The Church of the Nazarene has gotten away from preaching the holiness that God calls us to.
1. If in the name of church growth & relativity we, as a church, we will fail to prepare ppl for eternity.
2. God's work in ppls lives doesn't change!
3. The problem that has always existed still is the problem today (sin).
4. And the solution is much deeper than forgiveness (the 1st step), it is a cleansing of the heart.
-The day you seek Him w/ your whole heart, He will be found.
-1 Thess 4:3 "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality."
1. "will of God, that you would be made holy"
2. And abstain from the filth of this world.
3. That regardless of what goes on in this present age w/ it's trends & fads & sinfulness, you would maintain a holy purity.
-Point: I want to speak to those who are in God and are the church.
1. ...about the God you serve, who is holy,
2. ...and about the faith you have embraced, that is not complete.
V. To the Original Scripture
-1 Thessalonians 5:15
1. Jesus said: "Turn the other cheek."
2. How is the world going to change if we act the same way it does?
3. Ill. "Nazarene Nazi"
4. All of our human order, government, civility comes from punishment.
5. Lawsuits, wars, courts, punishments, prisons, fines, etc.
6. Jesus died for something different.
7. He wants a ppl who will live differently.
8. Doing good to everyone; always!
-v. 16
1. Sorrow, depression, misery of our world.
2. Ever told about the reason for your joy?
3. Ever showed your joy?
-v. 17
1. Live in the Spirit.
2. Cannot physically/mentally pray always.
3. This is possible.
-v. 18
-v. 19
1. That happens more in the sanctuary than anywhere else.
2. It could happen anywhere.
-v. 20
1. Do not reject anointed preaching.
-v. 21
1. Test for spiritual falsehood
2. So many false prophets, b/c no one tests the Spirit.
3. Hold fast to the good.
-v. 22
1. Abstain from every form of evil!
2. There is a right & wrong.
3. Stay away from the wrong.
VI. The Main Point
-v. 23 "Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy; and may your spirit, soul, & body be kept [preserved] faultless when our Lord Jesus Christ comes."
1. Preserved sounds like jars of fruit preservatives.
2. There may be Christians like that... or pickled.
-Body - Soma
1. Physical- Carnal- fleshly
2. Jesus in the flesh = incarnate
3. Baby ultrasounds = view of the Soma (physical)
4. Ultrasound look like weather report (partly cloudy)
5. Sometimes we have twins.
6. Identical twins = genetically the same.
7. When they are born they have the same Soma
8. Hard to tell apart, but not for the mother.
9. Why? B/c they are not alike.
10. B/c inside the Soma is the psyche.
-Psyche - Soul
1. Soul; not a good translation
2. Psyche = personality.
3. Psyche is expressed through the Soma/flesh.
4. Talk w/ your hands, way you move, way you dress is all expression of your Psyche through your Soma
5. Soma limits pysche at times
6. Jesus died not to save your Soma, but your Psyche.
7. Soma made holy so that your flesh will glorify God, by being His ambassador.
8. Flesh is a tool, given temporarily for us to use.
9. But he also wants to make holy our psyche.
10. The unmeasurable, unseen essence of who we are.
11. Our thoughts, our imagination, our desires, our priorities, all brought into a singular focus upon Christ.
-Pneuma - Spirit
1. Paul, in the Spirit, goes further.
2. W/in your pyche is the pneuma, where the breath of God is.
3. There is no way for us to articulate/communicate this part of us so we use physical lanugage.
4. "I feel God." "I hear God."
5. Not true, b/c God is way beyond the flesh.
6. That God's Holy Spirit would breathe upon me.
7. That the Spirit given to me when I was born-again would shape my psyche and ultimately my soma.
8. That God's Will would govern all of me, flesh, soul, spirit.
-What would it be called if this were true in my life?
1. That my spirit, soul, & body be made completely holy.
2. It would be called peace that passes all understanding.
-The conflict between soul & spirit, spirit & body, body & soul,... would be over!
VII. Soma in the Way of Pneuma!
-That's why Paul said it this way: "Now may the God of peace himself..."
-"Preacher, that's impossible."
1. Now we're on the same page
2. It is humanely impossible.
-Ill. How do we defend our beliefs?
1. Like 6 day creation- we fight like crazy!
2. The ESV is the best translation of the Bible- b/c you're stupid & unspiritual. (I did that in the Spirit of Jesus.)
3. How do we defend what we believe about God... fight, destroy, punish.
4. Why? B/c we are still living in the Soma/ flesh.
5. But it is totally out of line w/ the pneuma/ Spirit.
D. We do it b/c we really love God
-How can we be so in love with God yet so out of step with His Spirit?
-And why is it when we're trying our best to stand for/with God that we are so guilty!
VIII. Conclusion
-v. 23
-What if we just allowed God to make us holy?
1. Not through your effort.
2. Not through what you do.
-Just surrendering the conflict between Soma/flesh & Pneuma/spirit and allowing Him to make them all holy.
-"Preacher, I cannot do that."
1. That's why v. 24 says: "He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it."
2. Zechariah 4:6b "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts."
-That takes the struggle out of the church.
-Nazarene Nazis... it's the way we do everything... even in the church (force, punish...)
-But God's Word says: He just wants us to open up to His Holy Spirit.
-So that He might adopt not only the title of Savior in your life, but also of Lord. (Spirit, Soul, & Body)
-I talk w/ Christians every week who are in love with Jesus, but have never come into the peace of God.
-The real sign of holiness is something like peace, not something like 'speaking in tongues'.
-This peace, is worth dying for...
-Could you lay all of the things that make you, you on the altar? (Spirit, soul, & body)
-Could you allow God to make you completely holy?
Response
Through and Through: Made Entirely Holy
I. Introduction
-Thessalonians could be the oldest book of the NT.
-It was written by the hand of a man who encountered Christ on a road to Damascus.
-Within the NT is the roots of all that we are as Christians
-When we step away from who we are, why do we think the results would be the same as those in the NT?
II. Scripture
III. Background
-This is not just some other doctrine, this is the Word of God.
1. Has it made a difference in your life?
2. Is it a reality in your life?
-Let's get the context.
-1 Thess. 1:1 "Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"
1. From Paul, Silas, & Timothy
2. To the church (called out... assembly) of Thessalonica.
3. "in God" (not ‘of God')
4. He is speaking to those who don't simply come to church, but those who are the church.
5. Paul is saying: "I want to talk to you who are really in God!"
-1 Thess 1:4 "For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,"
1. "chosen you" = not a verb, but a noun.
2. It is not talking about what God did, but what you have become.
3. Paul: "I want to talk to you about your election."
4. Not about ‘the act' but about the ‘state of being.'
-I'm not making a doctrinal statement here.
-I'm trying to point out who Paul is writing to...
1. Not people who simply attend church or perform religious duties, but ppl who have become the possession of God.
2. Ppl in whom God exists.
3. Not to people who have declared that God has elected them w/out basis.
4. Those who become the chosen of God, by His son's sacrifice.
-1 Thess 3:9 "For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God"
1. Different from Corinthians, these are good people!
2. No need for rebuke, b/c they are good Christians!
3. This is a good church, where God is working!
-1 Thess 3:10 "...as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?"
1. What!?
2. "lacking in your faith?"
3. Paul is saying: "You are such a blessing! And I am losing sleep at night praying for what you are lacking in your faith."
4. These people are in God, salvation is sure, farther along than most churches today, but they are lacking something in their faith.
-This church had a reputation b/c of what God had done in their midst.
-1 Thess 1:8-9 "For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. [9] For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God"
1. People w/ a real born-again experience.
2. A testimony of what God had done.
3. People serving the Lord.
4. They were exemplary Christians.
IV. What is Lacking?
-1 Thess 3:11-13 "Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, [12] and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, [13] so that he may establish your hearts faultless [blameless] in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints."
1. May God do a work in your heart that cleanses everything that might be between you & Him.
2. May He establish your heart so that you will have an absolute cleansing.
-Ill. Car Wash Options
1. First few are only partial.
2. Number five is a full body wash, waxing, & detailing.
-What are we lacking?
1. Forgiveness of our sins.
2. We've "cleaned up our act."
3. We're living for God.
-1 Thess 4:7-8 "For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. [8]There-fore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit [in]to you."
1. Not impurity, but in holiness.
2. You are not disregarding a man (preacher, etc.), but God.
-Ill. What is God doing in Salvation?
1. Ill. Your life = a room.
2. Born again = God coming in and cleaning out the room.
3. He chases the Devil out of the room.
4. Then you take over managing the room & keeping the Devil out.
5. And it is a pushing match w/ the Devil on one side of the door & you on the other.
6. You're just trying to repress sin, to manage/ control it.
7. So as you fight the Devil, you don't get to vacuum or dust or clean up the clutter.
8. What we need is to remove "me" from the room so that the Spirit of God can fill it completely & thus make it completely holy.
-The Church of the Nazarene has gotten away from preaching the holiness that God calls us to.
1. If in the name of church growth & relativity we, as a church, we will fail to prepare ppl for eternity.
2. God's work in ppls lives doesn't change!
3. The problem that has always existed still is the problem today (sin).
4. And the solution is much deeper than forgiveness (the 1st step), it is a cleansing of the heart.
-The day you seek Him w/ your whole heart, He will be found.
-1 Thess 4:3 "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality."
1. "will of God, that you would be made holy"
2. And abstain from the filth of this world.
3. That regardless of what goes on in this present age w/ it's trends & fads & sinfulness, you would maintain a holy purity.
-Point: I want to speak to those who are in God and are the church.
1. ...about the God you serve, who is holy,
2. ...and about the faith you have embraced, that is not complete.
V. To the Original Scripture
-1 Thessalonians 5:15
1. Jesus said: "Turn the other cheek."
2. How is the world going to change if we act the same way it does?
3. Ill. "Nazarene Nazi"
4. All of our human order, government, civility comes from punishment.
5. Lawsuits, wars, courts, punishments, prisons, fines, etc.
6. Jesus died for something different.
7. He wants a ppl who will live differently.
8. Doing good to everyone; always!
-v. 16
1. Sorrow, depression, misery of our world.
2. Ever told about the reason for your joy?
3. Ever showed your joy?
-v. 17
1. Live in the Spirit.
2. Cannot physically/mentally pray always.
3. This is possible.
-v. 18
-v. 19
1. That happens more in the sanctuary than anywhere else.
2. It could happen anywhere.
-v. 20
1. Do not reject anointed preaching.
-v. 21
1. Test for spiritual falsehood
2. So many false prophets, b/c no one tests the Spirit.
3. Hold fast to the good.
-v. 22
1. Abstain from every form of evil!
2. There is a right & wrong.
3. Stay away from the wrong.
VI. The Main Point
-v. 23 "Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy; and may your spirit, soul, & body be kept [preserved] faultless when our Lord Jesus Christ comes."
1. Preserved sounds like jars of fruit preservatives.
2. There may be Christians like that... or pickled.
-Body - Soma
1. Physical- Carnal- fleshly
2. Jesus in the flesh = incarnate
3. Baby ultrasounds = view of the Soma (physical)
4. Ultrasound look like weather report (partly cloudy)
5. Sometimes we have twins.
6. Identical twins = genetically the same.
7. When they are born they have the same Soma
8. Hard to tell apart, but not for the mother.
9. Why? B/c they are not alike.
10. B/c inside the Soma is the psyche.
-Psyche - Soul
1. Soul; not a good translation
2. Psyche = personality.
3. Psyche is expressed through the Soma/flesh.
4. Talk w/ your hands, way you move, way you dress is all expression of your Psyche through your Soma
5. Soma limits pysche at times
6. Jesus died not to save your Soma, but your Psyche.
7. Soma made holy so that your flesh will glorify God, by being His ambassador.
8. Flesh is a tool, given temporarily for us to use.
9. But he also wants to make holy our psyche.
10. The unmeasurable, unseen essence of who we are.
11. Our thoughts, our imagination, our desires, our priorities, all brought into a singular focus upon Christ.
-Pneuma - Spirit
1. Paul, in the Spirit, goes further.
2. W/in your pyche is the pneuma, where the breath of God is.
3. There is no way for us to articulate/communicate this part of us so we use physical lanugage.
4. "I feel God." "I hear God."
5. Not true, b/c God is way beyond the flesh.
6. That God's Holy Spirit would breathe upon me.
7. That the Spirit given to me when I was born-again would shape my psyche and ultimately my soma.
8. That God's Will would govern all of me, flesh, soul, spirit.
-What would it be called if this were true in my life?
1. That my spirit, soul, & body be made completely holy.
2. It would be called peace that passes all understanding.
-The conflict between soul & spirit, spirit & body, body & soul,... would be over!
VII. Soma in the Way of Pneuma!
-That's why Paul said it this way: "Now may the God of peace himself..."
-"Preacher, that's impossible."
1. Now we're on the same page
2. It is humanely impossible.
-Ill. How do we defend our beliefs?
1. Like 6 day creation- we fight like crazy!
2. The ESV is the best translation of the Bible- b/c you're stupid & unspiritual. (I did that in the Spirit of Jesus.)
3. How do we defend what we believe about God... fight, destroy, punish.
4. Why? B/c we are still living in the Soma/ flesh.
5. But it is totally out of line w/ the pneuma/ Spirit.
D. We do it b/c we really love God
-How can we be so in love with God yet so out of step with His Spirit?
-And why is it when we're trying our best to stand for/with God that we are so guilty!
VIII. Conclusion
-v. 23
-What if we just allowed God to make us holy?
1. Not through your effort.
2. Not through what you do.
-Just surrendering the conflict between Soma/flesh & Pneuma/spirit and allowing Him to make them all holy.
-"Preacher, I cannot do that."
1. That's why v. 24 says: "He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it."
2. Zechariah 4:6b "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts."
-That takes the struggle out of the church.
-Nazarene Nazis... it's the way we do everything... even in the church (force, punish...)
-But God's Word says: He just wants us to open up to His Holy Spirit.
-So that He might adopt not only the title of Savior in your life, but also of Lord. (Spirit, Soul, & Body)
-I talk w/ Christians every week who are in love with Jesus, but have never come into the peace of God.
-The real sign of holiness is something like peace, not something like 'speaking in tongues'.
-This peace, is worth dying for...
-Could you lay all of the things that make you, you on the altar? (Spirit, soul, & body)
-Could you allow God to make you completely holy?
Response
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
What Believers Need...
Acts 15:4-9
What Believers Need: Holy Spirit Purity
I. Introduction
-What more do you need?
-...as a Christian?
II. Scripture
III. Background
-Peter's vision
1. Sheet w/ unclean animals comes down from heaven.
2. Kill & eat.
3. It's unclean, I've never done that, I will never do that.
4. God said: "What God has made clean do not call common."
5. This happened three times.
-As Peter was trying to figure it out, a knock on the door.
1. Cornelius, a centurian, had also had a vision from God.
2. Note: God will bring true seekers to our church if we will truly seek God.
3. He sent three men to find Peter.
4. The Spirit told Peter to go w/ the men.
-These were Gentiles! (Non-Jews)
-You see how God works things out?
-Can you see God's fingerprints in your life?
-I want to point out a few things about the passage we read in Acts 15 referring to 10.
IV. A Specific People
-The Holy Spirit doesn't just fall on anybody.
-This wasn't just a group of ppl pulled in off the street.
-Cornelius "pastor"
1. Acts 10: he brought his relatives & friends together.
2. They were having church.
-Who is He?
-Acts 10:1-2 "At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, [2] a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God."
-Note a few things about him:
-First, He was a devout man.
1. Definition of devout: devoted to God.
2. He worshiped the true God.
3. He did not worship all the Roman gods.
4. Lived for the Lord.
5. He was an earnest seeker.
-Second, He feared God.
1. We don't have any fear of God.
2. We treat Him like a Teddy Bear.
3. No awe, reverence, or fear of the Lord anymore.
4. Always remember you are unworthy for everything God has done in your life.
5. You don't deserve someone dying for you, you haven't earned heaven, you're not good enough for God.
6. Fear Him!
7. Fear of God reduces fear of other things. (Death, humanity, poverty, etc.)
-Third, that fear was in his whole house.
1. Cornelius was a spiritual leader in his home.
2. Men, you have a responsibility!
3. This is the most effective preaching that can take place: your family says you live out your faith in Christ.
4. That is a testimony!
-Fourth, he gave alms.
1. He gave from a large heart, liberally.
2. Stingy, self-centered spending rules today.
3. Debt, economic crisis, all spending on self.
4. Giving is an act of worship.
5. Not only to God/church, but to other ppl.
6. Be a spender on other people.
7. Give stuff away to others. (Not junk, but valuable stuff to you.)
-Finally, he prayed continually.
1. Ppl would find him on his knees in prayer.
2. At lunch hour, on breaks, in the morn, in the evening, before meals, in the midst of decisions.
3. He was continually in the "spirit of prayer."
4. Times I'm w/ Sarah, but not talking to Sarah, but we are still constantly communicating & enjoying the bond we have.
-These were ppl, though lacking much knowledge about Christ, were Christian.
-Only Christians receive the Holy Spirit, not sinners.
V. How They Received the Spirit
-First, it was instantaneous.
1. It was not something they grew into.
2. The Spirit fell on them.
3. This is not a spiritual discipline or an issue of maturity.
4. It is an issue of purity.
5. This is not something worked for, it is something sought for.
6. It is not something earned, it is something received.
-There are no degrees of Spirit baptism; you either have received or haven't.
-Second, God knew their hearts. (15:8)
1. When the heart is ready, the Spirit is given.
2. You will never be on a waiting list.
3. You will never be stalled or delayed.
4. God knows your heart & knows when it is ready!
5. Genesis 6:5 "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
6. 1 Samuel 16:7 "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.""
7. Matthew 15:19 "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander."
-Your heart is either a catalyst or a road block for God's work in your life.
1. Hearts are hard to judge.
2. "Is your heart in it?"
3. "Close to my heart."
4. "What does your heart tell you?"
-Apply the perception of the heart to spiritual matters.
1. Your heart might tell you that things aren't right.
2. Listen to it.
VI. The Effects of the Spirit
-Hebrews 10:14-16 "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. [15] And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, [16] "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,"
1. Law on hearts is in Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Romans, & Hebrews.
2. There is something about your heart that God wants.
3. Hosea 6:6 "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."
-Acts 15:9b "...having cleansed their hearts by faith."
1. God wants your heart.
2. If He has that, He has all of you.
-We would rather give God things...
1. Time, money, work in the church.
2. But heart is different.
-Even if we give our heart, God cannot accept it like it is.
1. It loves you.
2. We are our own greatest lovers.
3. Me, my way, what I want, vying for power, demanding our own way, insisting on my preferences, fighting for my reputation/ rights.
4. All that must be cleansed.
-Point: I find that among Nazarene, a "holiness" people, we have failed to allow God to cleanse our hearts.
1. "Preacher, I don't believe that's possible."
2. ...cleansed their hearts by faith...
3. You don't believe, it will never happen (just like justification).
VII. Conclusion
-In the last few years we have had a number of new ppl begin attending our church.
1. For the first time, in a long time, we have began baptizing ppl who have been born-again.
2. It's time for us to be a holiness church.
3. To you new Christians... seek a pure heart.
-After becoming a Christian you will feel the pull.
1. The love of self/world.
2. Conflict spiritually.
3. "I need something more."
-You need to be forgiven, and then to have a heart cleansing.
1. It comes in what Jesus promised as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
2. Nazarenes sometimes call it what Paul does in the epistles to the Thessalonians... entire sanctification.
-1 Peter 1:16 "You shall be holy, for I am holy."
1. God does not say we are to be holy as He is.
2. God says we are to be holy b/c He is.
-Ill. Witnessing models...
1. Often ask: "Have you been forgiven?"
2. That's a good question for someone who has not been born-again to think about.
-Ill. Holiness question...
1. Let me ask you a question.
2. Has your heart been purified by the Holy Spirit?
Response
What Believers Need: Holy Spirit Purity
I. Introduction
-What more do you need?
-...as a Christian?
II. Scripture
III. Background
-Peter's vision
1. Sheet w/ unclean animals comes down from heaven.
2. Kill & eat.
3. It's unclean, I've never done that, I will never do that.
4. God said: "What God has made clean do not call common."
5. This happened three times.
-As Peter was trying to figure it out, a knock on the door.
1. Cornelius, a centurian, had also had a vision from God.
2. Note: God will bring true seekers to our church if we will truly seek God.
3. He sent three men to find Peter.
4. The Spirit told Peter to go w/ the men.
-These were Gentiles! (Non-Jews)
-You see how God works things out?
-Can you see God's fingerprints in your life?
-I want to point out a few things about the passage we read in Acts 15 referring to 10.
IV. A Specific People
-The Holy Spirit doesn't just fall on anybody.
-This wasn't just a group of ppl pulled in off the street.
-Cornelius "pastor"
1. Acts 10: he brought his relatives & friends together.
2. They were having church.
-Who is He?
-Acts 10:1-2 "At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, [2] a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God."
-Note a few things about him:
-First, He was a devout man.
1. Definition of devout: devoted to God.
2. He worshiped the true God.
3. He did not worship all the Roman gods.
4. Lived for the Lord.
5. He was an earnest seeker.
-Second, He feared God.
1. We don't have any fear of God.
2. We treat Him like a Teddy Bear.
3. No awe, reverence, or fear of the Lord anymore.
4. Always remember you are unworthy for everything God has done in your life.
5. You don't deserve someone dying for you, you haven't earned heaven, you're not good enough for God.
6. Fear Him!
7. Fear of God reduces fear of other things. (Death, humanity, poverty, etc.)
-Third, that fear was in his whole house.
1. Cornelius was a spiritual leader in his home.
2. Men, you have a responsibility!
3. This is the most effective preaching that can take place: your family says you live out your faith in Christ.
4. That is a testimony!
-Fourth, he gave alms.
1. He gave from a large heart, liberally.
2. Stingy, self-centered spending rules today.
3. Debt, economic crisis, all spending on self.
4. Giving is an act of worship.
5. Not only to God/church, but to other ppl.
6. Be a spender on other people.
7. Give stuff away to others. (Not junk, but valuable stuff to you.)
-Finally, he prayed continually.
1. Ppl would find him on his knees in prayer.
2. At lunch hour, on breaks, in the morn, in the evening, before meals, in the midst of decisions.
3. He was continually in the "spirit of prayer."
4. Times I'm w/ Sarah, but not talking to Sarah, but we are still constantly communicating & enjoying the bond we have.
-These were ppl, though lacking much knowledge about Christ, were Christian.
-Only Christians receive the Holy Spirit, not sinners.
V. How They Received the Spirit
-First, it was instantaneous.
1. It was not something they grew into.
2. The Spirit fell on them.
3. This is not a spiritual discipline or an issue of maturity.
4. It is an issue of purity.
5. This is not something worked for, it is something sought for.
6. It is not something earned, it is something received.
-There are no degrees of Spirit baptism; you either have received or haven't.
-Second, God knew their hearts. (15:8)
1. When the heart is ready, the Spirit is given.
2. You will never be on a waiting list.
3. You will never be stalled or delayed.
4. God knows your heart & knows when it is ready!
5. Genesis 6:5 "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
6. 1 Samuel 16:7 "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.""
7. Matthew 15:19 "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander."
-Your heart is either a catalyst or a road block for God's work in your life.
1. Hearts are hard to judge.
2. "Is your heart in it?"
3. "Close to my heart."
4. "What does your heart tell you?"
-Apply the perception of the heart to spiritual matters.
1. Your heart might tell you that things aren't right.
2. Listen to it.
VI. The Effects of the Spirit
-Hebrews 10:14-16 "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. [15] And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, [16] "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,"
1. Law on hearts is in Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Romans, & Hebrews.
2. There is something about your heart that God wants.
3. Hosea 6:6 "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."
-Acts 15:9b "...having cleansed their hearts by faith."
1. God wants your heart.
2. If He has that, He has all of you.
-We would rather give God things...
1. Time, money, work in the church.
2. But heart is different.
-Even if we give our heart, God cannot accept it like it is.
1. It loves you.
2. We are our own greatest lovers.
3. Me, my way, what I want, vying for power, demanding our own way, insisting on my preferences, fighting for my reputation/ rights.
4. All that must be cleansed.
-Point: I find that among Nazarene, a "holiness" people, we have failed to allow God to cleanse our hearts.
1. "Preacher, I don't believe that's possible."
2. ...cleansed their hearts by faith...
3. You don't believe, it will never happen (just like justification).
VII. Conclusion
-In the last few years we have had a number of new ppl begin attending our church.
1. For the first time, in a long time, we have began baptizing ppl who have been born-again.
2. It's time for us to be a holiness church.
3. To you new Christians... seek a pure heart.
-After becoming a Christian you will feel the pull.
1. The love of self/world.
2. Conflict spiritually.
3. "I need something more."
-You need to be forgiven, and then to have a heart cleansing.
1. It comes in what Jesus promised as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
2. Nazarenes sometimes call it what Paul does in the epistles to the Thessalonians... entire sanctification.
-1 Peter 1:16 "You shall be holy, for I am holy."
1. God does not say we are to be holy as He is.
2. God says we are to be holy b/c He is.
-Ill. Witnessing models...
1. Often ask: "Have you been forgiven?"
2. That's a good question for someone who has not been born-again to think about.
-Ill. Holiness question...
1. Let me ask you a question.
2. Has your heart been purified by the Holy Spirit?
Response
Monday, May 26, 2008
Filled With the Spirit or Wine?
Ephesians 5:18
The following is a sermon that I preached on May 18th at the community worship service before the local vote on the sale of alcohol. As the Lord led I realized there was little use in trying to convince those present that alcohol would have a negative effect... that was why they were there. The following sermon ensued...
I. Introduction
-In two days an important vote will take place: Should we sell alcohol?
-However, I believe that the problem our community faces is much deeper than this vote.
-In other words, even if the vote is ‘no,’ our community will still have problems.
-I am against alcohol, but we must ask ourselves what we are for!
II. Scripture
III. More than Anti-Drunkenness
-Drunkenness is sin; the Bible is clear on that. (Galatians 5:21)
-What we could mistakenly read into that passage, and all of scripture is this: "If I am sober, I am saved."
-But that is not true; it is not sobriety that saves us.
-It is not the lack of alcohol that defines the church.
-It is not an absence of alcohol in our body that makes us a Christian.
-There is something more to being a Christian!
IV. Filled with the Spirit
-Often the church has attempted to define itself as simply "anti" something.
-But the void of things/sins removed from our lives must be filled with something else!
-Being Christian is not defined by sobriety, but a filling of the Holy Spirit!
-What are you filled with?
-I’m not talking about...
1. ...association w/ the Spirit.
2. ...acquaintance w/ the Spirit.
3. ...just having the Spirit.
-I’m talking about being filled with the Spirit.
-When you are filled w/ the Spirit, the Spirit comes out when you are knocked about by life.
-When you are filled with the Spirit, it spills out at work, at home, at church, at the ballfield, at school, etc.
-Are you filled with the Spirit? (Those filled with the Spirit are not drunkards!)
V. A Little Church History
-The church only exists in a place where it is receiving (& transmitting) the Holy Spirit!
-What place is that?- Revival
-Let me give you a little church history...
-First Great Awakening (1730-1740's)
1. Jonathon Edwards (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God).
2. George Whitfield (methodist)
3. Many congregational style churches (Baptist) emerge
4. Separate Baptists came out of this. (Their verse was: 2 Corinthians 6:17 "Come out from among them, and be ye separate.")
5. It was an awakening/revival of the church!
-There is a need of revival when the church isn’t what it should be!
1. Church lacks power today!
2. The church needs revival!
3. The devil/world cannot stop revival in the church, only you & I (the church) can do that!
-Second Great Awakening (1800-1840's)
1. Presbyterian pastor organized a revival in Cane Ridge, KY.
2. Thousands came out.
3. Baptists and Methodists joined in as it spread across KY and the US.
4. Cumberland Presbyterian Church emerges from the 2nd great awakening!
5. Focused on saving the lost.
6. Pushed controversial issues like temperance, women’s rights, & slavery.
7. Spiritual leaders...
8. Alexander Campbell- Christian Church
9. Methodist Church needs more people like Francis Asbury & Peter Cartright
10. Presbyterian Church needs more people like Charles Finney, Lyman Beecher (temperance),
-There is a need of revival when there are lost people!
-Third Great Awakening (1880's-1900's)
1. AKA- Holiness Movement
2. Church of the Nazarene came from 3rd awakening
3. Salvation Army came from this revival too.
4. Focused on life change after revival services were over!
5. Eventually birthed the Pentecostal movement.
-There is need of revival when lives do not match professions.
VI. Just Momentum?
-Are we running the church on momentum from years past? (past revivals? past generations?)
-Ill. It is said that out west on level, straight track a train going 40-50 mph will go for 15 or more miles on momentum.
-Are we preaching, singing, & testifying on yesterday’s blessings?
-The church has truth on its side!
1. It has the Gospel!
2. It has the Holy Spirit!
3. But I am afraid we haven’t utilized any of that.
-Ill. A train on its tracks came to a stop away from any station.
1. Passengers: "Haven’t you got any water for the boiler engines?"
2. Engineer: "Yes, but we don't have a fire."
-The church needs fire again!
VII. A Divided Church?
-Some have said: "Alcohol has brought division in our community."
-Matthew 10:34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."
-But in the accusation of division it is implied that the church is divided on this issue... not true.
-Truth is: No church or pastor in Green County is in support of selling alcohol.
-The church of green county stands in one accord on the issue of alcohol sales; it says: NO!
-Do you see what’s happening here? (We are in one accord!)
VIII. The Point?
-The Point: The church only exists when lives are being changed and disciples being made by the Spirit!
-We need an awakening today!
-We need a Pentecost!
-Acts 2:1 "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."
-The second great awakening began in little Cane Ridge, KY. Anyone know where that is?
-Critic: "We’re just a little county.What can we do?"
-Few people may have Greensburg, KY on their map, but few people had Cane Ridge, KY on their map until God broke out among the people!
-All of the ingredients are right for another Pentecost!
IX. Conclusion
-If all we ever accomplish in ministry is keeping alcohol out of Green County we will have failed.
-The ministry of the church is to bring about a spiritual awakening to God’s truth.
-I believe it is coming!
-Maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow, but it is coming!
-God is going to reveal himself to our community!
The following is a sermon that I preached on May 18th at the community worship service before the local vote on the sale of alcohol. As the Lord led I realized there was little use in trying to convince those present that alcohol would have a negative effect... that was why they were there. The following sermon ensued...
I. Introduction
-In two days an important vote will take place: Should we sell alcohol?
-However, I believe that the problem our community faces is much deeper than this vote.
-In other words, even if the vote is ‘no,’ our community will still have problems.
-I am against alcohol, but we must ask ourselves what we are for!
II. Scripture
III. More than Anti-Drunkenness
-Drunkenness is sin; the Bible is clear on that. (Galatians 5:21)
-What we could mistakenly read into that passage, and all of scripture is this: "If I am sober, I am saved."
-But that is not true; it is not sobriety that saves us.
-It is not the lack of alcohol that defines the church.
-It is not an absence of alcohol in our body that makes us a Christian.
-There is something more to being a Christian!
IV. Filled with the Spirit
-Often the church has attempted to define itself as simply "anti" something.
-But the void of things/sins removed from our lives must be filled with something else!
-Being Christian is not defined by sobriety, but a filling of the Holy Spirit!
-What are you filled with?
-I’m not talking about...
1. ...association w/ the Spirit.
2. ...acquaintance w/ the Spirit.
3. ...just having the Spirit.
-I’m talking about being filled with the Spirit.
-When you are filled w/ the Spirit, the Spirit comes out when you are knocked about by life.
-When you are filled with the Spirit, it spills out at work, at home, at church, at the ballfield, at school, etc.
-Are you filled with the Spirit? (Those filled with the Spirit are not drunkards!)
V. A Little Church History
-The church only exists in a place where it is receiving (& transmitting) the Holy Spirit!
-What place is that?- Revival
-Let me give you a little church history...
-First Great Awakening (1730-1740's)
1. Jonathon Edwards (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God).
2. George Whitfield (methodist)
3. Many congregational style churches (Baptist) emerge
4. Separate Baptists came out of this. (Their verse was: 2 Corinthians 6:17 "Come out from among them, and be ye separate.")
5. It was an awakening/revival of the church!
-There is a need of revival when the church isn’t what it should be!
1. Church lacks power today!
2. The church needs revival!
3. The devil/world cannot stop revival in the church, only you & I (the church) can do that!
-Second Great Awakening (1800-1840's)
1. Presbyterian pastor organized a revival in Cane Ridge, KY.
2. Thousands came out.
3. Baptists and Methodists joined in as it spread across KY and the US.
4. Cumberland Presbyterian Church emerges from the 2nd great awakening!
5. Focused on saving the lost.
6. Pushed controversial issues like temperance, women’s rights, & slavery.
7. Spiritual leaders...
8. Alexander Campbell- Christian Church
9. Methodist Church needs more people like Francis Asbury & Peter Cartright
10. Presbyterian Church needs more people like Charles Finney, Lyman Beecher (temperance),
-There is a need of revival when there are lost people!
-Third Great Awakening (1880's-1900's)
1. AKA- Holiness Movement
2. Church of the Nazarene came from 3rd awakening
3. Salvation Army came from this revival too.
4. Focused on life change after revival services were over!
5. Eventually birthed the Pentecostal movement.
-There is need of revival when lives do not match professions.
VI. Just Momentum?
-Are we running the church on momentum from years past? (past revivals? past generations?)
-Ill. It is said that out west on level, straight track a train going 40-50 mph will go for 15 or more miles on momentum.
-Are we preaching, singing, & testifying on yesterday’s blessings?
-The church has truth on its side!
1. It has the Gospel!
2. It has the Holy Spirit!
3. But I am afraid we haven’t utilized any of that.
-Ill. A train on its tracks came to a stop away from any station.
1. Passengers: "Haven’t you got any water for the boiler engines?"
2. Engineer: "Yes, but we don't have a fire."
-The church needs fire again!
VII. A Divided Church?
-Some have said: "Alcohol has brought division in our community."
-Matthew 10:34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."
-But in the accusation of division it is implied that the church is divided on this issue... not true.
-Truth is: No church or pastor in Green County is in support of selling alcohol.
-The church of green county stands in one accord on the issue of alcohol sales; it says: NO!
-Do you see what’s happening here? (We are in one accord!)
VIII. The Point?
-The Point: The church only exists when lives are being changed and disciples being made by the Spirit!
-We need an awakening today!
-We need a Pentecost!
-Acts 2:1 "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."
-The second great awakening began in little Cane Ridge, KY. Anyone know where that is?
-Critic: "We’re just a little county.What can we do?"
-Few people may have Greensburg, KY on their map, but few people had Cane Ridge, KY on their map until God broke out among the people!
-All of the ingredients are right for another Pentecost!
IX. Conclusion
-If all we ever accomplish in ministry is keeping alcohol out of Green County we will have failed.
-The ministry of the church is to bring about a spiritual awakening to God’s truth.
-I believe it is coming!
-Maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow, but it is coming!
-God is going to reveal himself to our community!
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