II. We are called to HOLINESSGod's Holiness DEFINED
God's Holiness MANIFEST
III. Pursuing HOLINESSPOSITIONAL Holiness
EQUIPPED for Holiness
IV. God's Greatest Desire... Our HOLINESSDIFFICULTIES in the pursuit
DISCIPLINES for Holiness
We were CREATED for HOLINESS
Believers are DESTINED for Holiness
Are you surprised by difficulties? 1Pet 4:12-13
Are you saddened by difficulties? James 1:2-4
Are you doing everything you can to avoid all difficulties? Phil 1:29
Focus: God allows us to wrestle with Him so that we might come away changed and strengthened by the experience.
I. God LIMITED His POWER in order to move us.
II. God "STRUGGLES" with us to move us from WRESTLING to CLINGING.
III. God "STRUGGLES" with us to move us from CONTROL to SURRENDER.
A. FEAR, INSECURITY and SIN all get in God's way.B. I am not too to experience God's best for me.
A. Your HEART needs to be READYB. Your TRUST needs to GROWC. Your ACTIONS need to START
Focus: God is with you and will watch over wherever you go.
I. God offers FAVOR to the FUGITIVE
A. God offers His PRESENCE
B. God offers His PROTECTION
C. God offers His PROMISES
II. RESPOND to God's OFFER
A. With AWE
B. With a MEMORABLE COMMITMENT
Christianity 101 "Dressing Yourself in Christ"1. The GRACE of Christ
2. The PEACE of Christ
3. The WORD of Christ
4. The NAME of Christ
1. Put OFF the OLD garments
2. Put ON the NEW garments
3. 8 Essential of the New Man
- TENDER MERCIES
- KINDNESS
- HUMILITY
- MEEKNESS
- LONG SUFFERING
- FORBEARANCE
- FORGIVENESS
- LOVE
A Properly Dressed Believer Will
1. GLORIFY God
2. BUILD UP and EDIFY God's People
3. Be a WITNESS to the Lost
II. How God REAFFIRMED the Promise UNCONDITIONALLYA. A TEST was repeated
B. A PROMISE was repeated
C. A SHORT COMING was repeated
A. In spite of SIN, God RESCUED
B. In spite of FAMINE, God PROVIDED
C. In spite of OPPOSITION, God BLESSED
Focus: Relays are won or lost in the passing of the baton.
Genesis 24
I. Divine PROVIDENCE works in cooperation with human RESPONSIBILITY.
II. God's promises bless WILLING SERVANTS.
III. When looking for a spouse
A. Look to INVOLVE OTHERS in your decision
B. Look for KINDNESS.
C. Look for PURITY OF HEART.
D. Look for READINESS and WILLINGNESS.
E. Look for someone WHO LOVES GOD!
III. Remembering, HONOR1 Peter 3:6
Hebrews 11:13
II. Some tests are for REASONS BEYOND us
<p>Genesis 20<br>
Focus: God often moves on our behalf even when we fail to trust Him appropriately.</p>
<p>I. Look in the MIRROR</p>
Do we REPEAT OFFENCES?
Do we allow FEAR to TRUMP our FAITH?
Do we fail to CONSIDER CONSEQUENCES?
Genesis 3:15 NIV
<p>II. Look in the WINDOW!</p>
Genesis 19
Focus: Vote according to God's values, not for your own economic self-interests.I. Don't try to climb Lot's LADDER (Gen 13:12)
II. His votes leaned against the WRONG WALL
III. Sexual ORIENTATION is a MORAL ISSUE, not a CIVIL RIGHT
(Rom 1:27, I Cor 6:18, Prov 6:27-29 I Cor 6:9-11)
Focus: We need to learn how to walk the ancient paths already trail-blazed before us.
I. Walking with God is not TRAIL BLAZING
A. How the path begins: THE PROMISE
B. Take STEPS to LAY HOLD of God's Promises
C. God INITIATED a RELATIONSHIP with you
D. God CUT through the THICKET
II. God blesses through a CHANNEL of BLESSING
III. First steps include FALLING
A. Incomplete OBEDIENCE makes things complicated
B. Because babies , help
Focus: Because of Jesus, the Holy Spirit provides resurrection life now!
I. The Spirit sets us free!
A. From the PENALTY of sin
B. From the POWER of sin
II. HEAVEN came down.
Relying on the Spirit
- ...Is POWERFUL
- ...meets God's REQUIREMENTS
- ...gives you GODLY DESIRES
- ...gives you LIFE & PEACE
- ...resurrects you from the INSIDE OUT
- ...is your OBLIGATION
- ...puts to DEATH the MISDEEDS of BODY
- ...provides GUIDANCE
- ...is the JOY of a FAMILY CONNECTION with God
- ...gives you ASSURANCE
The Holy Spirit Series Part 5, Galatians 5:16-25
Focus: When we walk with the Spirit He brings fresh and sweet produce out of our lives.
I. DANGEROUS DESIRES produce rotten fruit
II. DEVINE DESIRES produce sweet fruit
A. Walking with the Spirit is a CHOICE
B. How to KEEP in STEP with the Spirit
1. CONFESSION
2. REPENTANCE
3. DEPENDENCE
C. What this looks like
Faith expressing itself through love
FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT
LOVE
JOY
PEACE
PATIENCE
LONG SUFFERING
KINDNESS
GOODNESS
FAITHFULNESS
GENTLENESS
SELF CONTROL
YOUR YIELD EFFECTS YOUR YIELD.....
Ephesians 5:18 and various texts
Focus: Keep being filled with the Holy Sprit; it's a command!
I. What INFLUENCE are you UNDER?
A. Characteristics of being UNDER the INFLUENCE of ALCOHOL
1. How do they come under the influence?
2. What happens under the influence?
3. How long does the influence last?
B. Characteristics of being UNDER the INFLUENCE of THE SPIRIT
1. How do they come under the influence?
2. What happens under the influence?
3. How long does the influence last?
II. SOUL satisfaction is the SOLE satisfaction that will satisfy for eternity
III. You cannot be FILLED with a COUNTERFEIT and be FILLED with the SPIRIT at the SAME TIME
Holy Spirit Series Part 3
John 14-16 Easy to Read VersionFocus: Jesus made it possible for us to receive and enjoy the Holy Spirit as our Counselor and Coach.
I. Jesus gave us ANOTHER COUNSELOR
John 14:16-17, John 14:26, John 16:7, John 2:1
II. Why we need him
III. What do I need to do?
Acts 2:37-38, John 14:16-17, Acts 5:32, John 14:23, John 15:4-12
I. Compromising RELATIONSHIPS.
II. FINANCIAL neglect.
The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn
III. Ignored PRIORITY PRINCIPLES.
IV. YOKED together with UNBELIEVERS.
1 On that day the Book of Moses was read out loud, so that all the people could hear. They found this law written there: No Ammonite and no Moabite would be permitted to join in the meetings with God. 2 That law was written because those people didn’t give the Israelites food and water. And they had paid Balaam to say a curse against the Israelites. But our God changed that curse and made it a blessing for us. 3 So when the Israelites heard that law, they obeyed it. They separated themselves from the people who were descendants of foreigners.
4-5 But, before that happened, Eliashib had given a room in the Temple to Tobiah. Eliashib was the priest in charge of the storerooms in our God’s Temple. And he was a close friend of Tobiah. That room had been used for storing the grain offerings, incense, and the Temple dishes and things. They also kept the tenth of grain, new wine, and oil for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers in that room. And they also kept the gifts for the priests in that room. But Eliashib gave that room to Tobiah.
6 I was not in Jerusalem while all of this was happening. I had gone back to the king of Babylon. I went back to Babylon in the 32nd year that Artaxerxes was king of Babylon. [a]Later, I asked the king for permission to go back to Jerusalem. 7 So I came back to Jerusalem. There I heard about the sad thing that Eliashib had done. He had given Tobiah a room in the Temple of God! 8 I was very angry about what Eliashib had done, so I threw all of Tobiah’s things out of the room. 9 I gave commands for the rooms to be made pure and clean. Then I put the Temple dishes and things, the grain offerings, and the incense back into the rooms.
10 I also heard that the people had not given the Levites their share. So the Levites and singers had gone back to work in their own fields. 11 So I told the officials that they were wrong. I asked them, “Why didn’t you take care of God’s Temple?” Then I called all Levites together and told them to go back to their places and duties in the Temple. 12Then everyone in Judah brought their tenth of grain, new wine, and oil to the Temple. These things were put into the storerooms.
13 I put these men in charge of the storerooms: Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the teacher, and a Levite named Pedaiah. And I made Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, their helper. I knew I could trust these men. They were responsible for giving the supplies to their relatives.
14 My God, please remember me for these things I have done. Don’t forget all I have faithfully done for the Temple of my God and for its services.
15 In those days in Judah, I saw people working on the Sabbath day. I saw people pressing grapes to make wine. I saw people bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys. I saw people carrying grapes, figs, and all kinds of things in the city. They were bringing all these things into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, so I warned them about this. I told them they must not sell food on the Sabbath day.
16 There were some men from the city of Tyre living in Jerusalem. They were bringing fish and all kinds of things into Jerusalem and selling them on the Sabbath day. And the Jews were buying them. 17 I told the important people of Judah that they were wrong. I said, “You are doing a very bad thing. You are ruining the Sabbath day. 18 You know that your ancestors did the same things. That is why our God brought all the troubles and disaster to us and to this city. Now you people are making it so that more of these bad things will happen to Israel. They are doing this because you are breaking the Sabbath by treating it just as if it were any other day.”
19 So this is what I did: Every Friday evening, just before dark, I commanded the gatekeepers to shut and lock the gates to Jerusalem. They were not to be opened until the Sabbath day was over. I put some of my own men at the gates. They were commanded to make sure that no load was brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.
20 One or two times, traders and merchants had to stay the night outside Jerusalem. 21But I warned them, “Don’t stay the night in front of the wall. If you do that again, I will arrest you.” So from that time on they didn’t come on the Sabbath day to sell their things.
22 Then I commanded the Levites to make themselves pure. After they did that, they were to go and guard the gates. This was done to make sure the Sabbath day was kept a holy day.
My God, please remember me for doing this. Be kind to me and show me your great love!
23 In those days I also noticed that some Jewish men had married women from the countries of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of the children from those marriages didn’t know how to speak the Jewish language. They spoke the language of Ashdod, Ammon, or Moab. 25 So I told the men that they were wrong. I said bad things to them. I hit some of them, and I pulled out their hair. I forced them to make a promise in God’s name. I said to them, “You must not marry the daughters of these foreigners. Don’t let their daughters marry your sons, and don’t let your daughters marry the sons of these foreigners. 26 You know that marriages like this caused Solomon to sin. In all the many nations, there was not a king as great as Solomon. God loved him and made him king over the whole nation of Israel. But even Solomon was made to sin because of foreign women. 27 And now, we hear that you also are doing this terrible sin. You are not being true to our God. You are marrying foreign women.”
28 Joiada was the son of Eliashib the high priest. One of Joiada’s sons was a son-in-law of Sanballat from Horon. I forced him to leave this place. I forced him to run away.
29 My God, punish these people. They made the priesthood unclean. They treated it as if it was not important. They did not obey the agreement that you made with the priests and Levites. 30 So I made the priests and Levites clean and pure. I took away all the foreigners and the strange things they taught. And I gave the Levites and priests their own duties and responsibilities. 31 And I made sure that people will bring gifts of wood and the first part of their harvest at the right times.
My God, remember me for doing these good things.
Footnotes:
Focus: There are things we can do to receive and maintain the joy of the Lord.
I. Redeem your BROKENNESS
A. With FASTING
B. With HUMILITY
C. With CONFESSION
D. With WORSHIP
II. Reflect and relate PRAISE and ADORATION
III. Recognize your own PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
IV. Renew your COMMITTMENT to OBEDIENCE
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