September 25 2016 Learning To Be Content

LEARNING TO BE CONTENT

Memory Verse: Exodus 20:17 "You shall not covet...anything that belongs to your neighbor."

"COVET": the uncontrolleddesire to acquire

I. What Happens When I Always Want More

1. Fatigue

Proverbs 23:4" Do not wear yourself out to be rich; have the wisdom to show restraint."

2. Debt

Ecclesiastes 5:11 (LB) "The more money you have, the more money you spend..."

3. Worry

Ecclesiastes 5:12 (GN)"A working man ... can get a good night's sleep. But the rich man has so much that he stays awake worrying."

4. Conflict

James 4:1"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from the desires that battle with you?"

5. Dissatisfaction

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (GN)"You will never be satisfied if you long to be rich. You will never get all you want."

Philippians 4:12(Paul) "I have learned the secret of being content... whether living in plenty or in want."

II. How To Learn To Be Content

1. RESIST COMPARING MYSELF TO OTHERS.

2 Corinthians 10:12 "We do not dare classify or compare ourselves ... it is not wise."

I Timothy 6:9 (JB) "When we long to be rich, we are a prey to temptation; We get trapped into all sorts of foolish and dangerous ambitions which eventually plunge us into ruin."

2. REJOICE IN WHAT I DO HAVE.

Ecclesiastes 5:19 (GN)"If God gives a man wealth and property .. he should be grateful and enjoy what he has...it is a gift from God."

Ecclesiastes 6:9 (GN)"It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else."

3. RELEASE WHAT I HAVE TO HELP OTHERS.

I Timothy 6:17-19 (LB)"Tell those who are rich, not to be proud and not to trust in their money which will soon be gone. Tell them to use their money to do good ... to give happily to those in need, always with others whatever God has given them. By doing this they will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven -- it is the only safe investment for eternity!"

Acts 20:35 (GN)"There is more happiness in giving than in receiving."

4. REFOCUS ON WHAT'S GOING TO LAST.

2 Corinthians 4:18 "We fix our attention, not on the things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever."

Luke 12:15 "A man's true life is not made up of the things he owns, no matter how rich he may be."

November 23 2014 Building A Life Of Purpose

Building A Life Of Purpose

IF I DON’T UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE OF LIFE

• Life Seems useless.

Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 – Life is useless, all useless.  You spend your life working, but what do you have to show for it?  The world just stays the same.

• Life Seems tiresome.

Ecclesiastes 1:4-8 – The sun rises and goes down, the wind blows round and round and back again.  Every river flows into the sea, then the water returns to where the river began and starts all over again.  Everything leads to weariness.

• Life Seems unfulfilling.

Ecclesiastes 1:8-10 – No matter how much we see, we’re never satisfied; no matter how much we hear, we’re not content.  History merely repeats itself.

• Life Seems insignificant.

Ecclesiastes 1:11 – No one remembers what has happened in the past, and no one in days to come will remember what happens between now and then.

• Life Seems uncontrollable.

Ecclesiastes 1:15 – You can’t straighten out what is crooked; you can’t count things that aren’t there!

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE?

• Life is a preparation for eternity.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 – He has planted eternity in the human heart.

WHAT IS GOD’S PURPOSE?

I. First God made you to know Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:4-5 – Before the world was made, God had already decided that through Jesus Christ, He would bring us to Himself as His children that was His pleasure and purpose.

HOW TO KNOW GOD

1. Remember God first reached out to you.

1 John 4:10 – This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

2. Respond to His love.

John 5:24 – I tell you the truth, whoever hears My Word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life.

II. Secondly, God made you to be like Him.

Romans 8:28-29 – We know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plans. For from the beginning God decided that those who come to Him should be like His Son.

HOW TO BE LIKE HIM

1. Make Christ your very life.

John 12:34 – I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat fall to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed, but if it dies it produces seed.

2. Allow every circumstance to mold you.

Romans 8:28 – We know that in all thing God works for the good of those who love Him.

III. Thirdly, God made us to serve Him.

Acts 13:36 – For David served God’s purpose in his generation and then he died.

HOW DO I SERVE?

1. It’s a choice.

Romans 12:1-2 – Offer yourselves to God, dedicated to His service, then you will be able to know the will of God, what is good, pleasing and perfect.

2. Serve God where you’re at.

1 Corinthians 15:58 – Nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever useless.

IV. God made us to use our treasure in view of eternity.

1 Timothy 6:18-19 – Use your money to do good, always being ready to share whatever God has given you.  By doing this you will be storing up real treasure for yourself in heaven.

Luke 16:9 – Use worldly wealth to make friends who will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

October 27 2013 Building A Life Of Intention

BUILDING A LIFE OF INTENTION

Ephesians 2:10 – God is our Maker, and in our union with Christ, He has created us for a life of good works, which He has already prepared for us to do.

Acts 13:36 – David served God’s purpose in his generation.

Acts 20:24 – (Paul) I reckon my own life to be worth nothing to me, in order that I may complete my mission and finish the work the Lord Jesus gave me to do.

THE BENEFITS OF LIVING AN INTENTIONAL LIFE

1. It will reduce frustration.

James 1:6-7-A doubtful mind is unsettled as a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

James 1:8 – The double minded man can never keep a steady

Isaiah 49:4 – I’ve labored to no purpose. I’ve spent my strength in vain and for nothing.

2. It will increase my motivation.

Job 7:6, 17 – My life drags by, day after hopeless day, I’m tired of living, my life makes no sense.

Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, they are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Ephesians 3:20 – God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of.

3. It will allow greater concentration.

Philippians 3:13 – I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: forgetting what is behind and looking forward to what

Ephesians 5:15-17 – Pay close attention to how you live. Make good use of every opportunity you get, find out what the Lord wants you to do.

4. It will attract cooperation.

Ezra 10:14 – Tell us how to proceed in setting things straight, and we will fully cooperate.

5. It will prepare me for God’s evaluation.

Romans 14:10, 12 – We will all stand before God’s judgment seat. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

∙ Believe God has a purpose for my life.

Proverbs 16:4 – The Lord has made everything for His own purpose.

∙ Receive God’s Son into my life.

Ephesians 1:4-5 – Long ago, even before He made the world, God choose us to be His very own through what Christ would do for us, His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family be sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And He did this because He wanted to!

∙ Live in Christ each day.

Colossians 2:6 – So then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him.

Acts 20:24 – Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus.

I Corinthians 6:20 – Use every part of your body to give glory to Him.

∙ Use your treasure in view of eternity.

I Timothy 6:18-19 – Use your money to do good, always being ready to share whatever God has given you. By doing this you will be storing up real treasure for yourself in heaven.

Luke 16:9 – Use worldly wealth to make friends who will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

January 30 2011 How To Live Generously

How To Live Generously

(Acts 20:35 - In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive.'")

Key Bible Words: Believe, Pray, Love, Give

Luke 6:38 - "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

I. How giving benefits your life

1. Giving makes us more like God

(John 3:16 - "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.")

2. Giving draws me closer to God

(Matthew 6:21 - "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.")

3. Giving is a victory over materialism

(1 Timothy 6:17-19 - Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.")

(Deuteronomy 14:23 - Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.)

4. Giving strengthens my faith

(Malachi 3:10 - "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.")

(Proverbs 3:5&9 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding - Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops)

5. Giving is an investment for eternity

(1 Timothy 6:18-19 - Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.)

6. Giving it blesses me in return

(Proverbs 22:9 - A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.)

(Psalm 112:5 - Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.)

7. Giving makes me happy

(1 Chronicles 29:9 - The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.)

II. How to get the most out of giving

1. Learn to give willingly

(2 Corinthians 9:12 - This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.)

2. Give generously

(2 Corinthians 8:3-4 - For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.)

3. Give joyfully

(2 Corinthians 9:7 - Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.)

4. Give thankfully

(1 Chronicles 29:13-14 - Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.")

5. Give expectantly

(2 Corinthians 9:6 - Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.)

(2 Corinthians 8:5 - And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.)