April 10 2015 Your Failures And God's Grace

YOUR FAILURES AND GOD’S GRACE

Psalm 80:19 – Restore us O Lord God of Hose, cause your face to shine and we shall be saved.

Four Causes Of Drifting Away.

1. Over-Confidence.

1 Corinthians 10:12 – Let him who standeth take heed lest he fall.

Proverbs 16:18 – Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

2. Laziness.

Mark 14:37 – Could you not keep watch for one hour.

Matthew 26:41 – Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.

3. Fear of disapproval.

Mark 15:54 - Peter followed Him at a distance.

Proverbs 29:25 – Fearing people is a dangerous trap.

Mark 8:28 – (Jesus) If anyone is ashamed of Me and My Words, I will be ashamed of him before the Holy angels and My Father in heaven.

4. Convenience.

Verse 54 – There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

Steps To God’s Restoration

Jeremiah 15:19 – If you will return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve Me.

Isaiah 1:18 – No matter how deep the stains of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow.

1. Confession of my movement away.

1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2. Cooperation with God’s presence.

John 15:5 – I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.

Psalm 37:34 – Wait for the Lord and keep His way.  He will exalt you to possess the land.

3. Consecrate your whole life to God.

Romans 12: 1-2 – I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service.

4. Continue to serve God.

John 21:15 – Feed my sheep.

2 Corinthians 5:18 – God reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

Jeremiah 15:19 – If you return to Me, I will restore you.

May 31 2015 Freedom To Change

FREEDOM TO CHANGE

Romans 12:1-2
 
Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask him to remove my character defects. 

Romans 12:1-2 – Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him, and let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.

I. Where Do My Character Defects Come From?

• My biological inheritance.

Genetics explain predisposition but don’t excuse sin.

• My circumstances, or how I was raised.

Character defects are often attempts to fill unmet needs.

• My choices in life.

Character defects are often positive qualities being misused.

II. Why Is It So Hard To Change Them?

1. Because I’ve had them a long time.

2. Because I confuse my identity with them.

3. Because they have a payoff.

4. Because satan discourages me.

III. How Do I Cooperate With God’s Change Process?

Romans 12:2 – Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

1. Focus on changing one defect at a time.

Proverbs 17:24 – An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions.

2. Focus on Victory one day at a time.

Matthew 6:11 – Give us this day our daily bread.

Matthew 6:34 – Don’t worry about tomorrow, each day has enough troubles of its own.

3. Focus on God’s power not willpower.

Jeremiah 12:23 – Can a leopard take away his spots?  Nor can you who are used to doing evil now start being good.

BUT…..

Philippians 4:13 – I can master anything with the help of Christ who gives me strength.

4. Focus on what I want, not what I don’t want.

Philippians 4:8 – Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right.  Think about things that are pure.  Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about. 

5. Focus on doing good, not feeling good.

Galatians 5:16 – If you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence.   

6. Focus on people who help me, not hinder me. 

Proverbs 27:1 – As iron sharpens iron, so people can improve each other.

7. Focus on progress not perfect performance.

Philippians 1:6 – God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in His Grace until His task with you is finally finished.

March 9 2014 How To Study A Bible Passage

How To Study A Bible Passage (part 1) 

40 Days In The Word - Part 4

The key to Bible Study is asking good questions.

PHILIPPIANS 2:19-30 “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone else looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon. But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.”

I. OBSERVATION: What does it say?

• Paul intends to send two men to Philippi

vs. 19 “I hope to send you Timothy”

vs. 25 “I think it is necessary to send Epaphroditus back to you.”

• Paul endorsed these guys as role models

vs. 20 (Timothy) “I have no one else like him!”

vs. 29 (Epaphroditus) “Welcome him... HONOR men like him.”

• What does it mean to be like these men? What are they like?

vs. 20-21 “takes a genuine interest”

vs. 22 “has proved himself”

vs. 25 “my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier”

vs. 26 “longs for all of you and is distressed”

vs. 27-30 “almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life”

II. INTERPRETATION: What does it mean?

1. A Godly Man is Caring

VS. 21 “I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone elselooks out for his own interests…”

(TEV) “genuinely cares for you … others only care about themselves”

(Ph) “...they are all wrapped up in their own affairs...”

2. A Godly man is Consistent

VS. 22 “Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father, he has served with me in the work of the gospel.”

(GW) “...you know what kind of person Timothy proved to be.”

3. A Godly man is Cooperative.

vs. 25 “I send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs.”

(GN) “...he has worked and fought by my side”

4. A Godly Man is Considerate.
vs. 26 “For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.”

5. A Godly Man is Courageous

VS.27+30 “Indeed he was ill, and almost died...he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you couldn’t give me.”

III. CORRELATION: Is there anything else in the Bible that will help me understand this passage?

Timothy: 1 & 2 Timothy Epaphroditus Ph. 4:14-18

IV. APPLICATION

S.P.A.C.E.P.E.T.S.

Personal Practical Possible Provable

For Further Study Rick Warren's Bible Study Methods: Twelve Ways You Can Unlock God's Word by Rick Warren

February 9 2014 Living A Productive Life

Living A Productive Life 

Three Kinds of Fruit:

• Natural fruit.
• Biological fruit.
• Spiritual fruit.

John 15:8 – This is my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Verse 16 – I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will last.

Four Steps to Productivity:

1. Establish some roots.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 – Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water, that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes. It’s leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

Proverbs 12:3 – The righteous cannot be uprooted.

Psalm 1:2-3 – But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.

2. Eliminate the weeds.
Luke 8:11-14 –The seed is the Word of God, and the seed that falls among weeds stands for those who hear the Word, but the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life crowd in and choke their lives and their fruit never ripens.

Types of Weeds:

• Weeds of worry.
• Weeds of riches.
• Weeds of pleasure.

3. Cooperate with God.
John 15:1-2 – Jesus said, I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He lops off every branch that doesn’t produce and He prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops.

Hebrews 12:11 – No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained in it.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 – Give thanks in all circumstances

4. Wait for the harvest.
John 12:24 – Jesus said, Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

January 26 2014 The Truth About Change

The Truth About Change 

MYTH: "I should be able to change overnight. "

I. THE PROCESS GOD USES TO CHANGE US

Phase 1: CONCERN

Job 30:27 (LB)"My heart is troubled and restless. "

Deuteronomy 32:11 "like an eagle that stirs up its nest .... "

How you feel: UNCOMFORTABLE

Phase 2: CRISIS

2 Corinthians 7:10 (LB)"God sometimes uses sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin .... "

How you feel: INTENSE PAIN

Phase 3: CHOICE

Job 34:3-4 (LB)"We choose the sounds we want to listen to; we choose the taste we want in food, and we should choose to follow what is right. "

How you feel: SCARED

Phase 4: COMPREHENSION

Romans 12:2 (NCV)"... be changed within by a new way of thinking .... "

John 8:32 (LB)". . . the truth will set you free. "

How you feel: CAUTIOUSLY HOPEFUL

Phase 5: CONDUCT

James 2:17 "Faith, if it is not accompanied by ACTION, is dead."

How you feel: FRUSTRATED

Phase 6: COMMITMENT TO CONTINUE.

How you feel: DISCOURAGEMENT

II. HOW TO COOPERATE WITH GOD'S PROCESS

Phase 1: Be Alert To God's Voice

Job 33:13-19"For God does speak -- now one way, now another -- though man may not perceive it. In a dream . . . as they slumber . . . (or) he may speak in their ears . . . with warnings . . . Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress .... "

Phase 2: Accept God’s Comfort

Isaiah 42:3 "God will encourage the fainthearted, those tempted to despair. "

Psalm 31:7 (LB) "You (God) have listened to my troubles and have seen the crisis in my soul. "

Jonah 2:7 (LB) " When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord. "

Phase 3: Ask God For Courage

Isaiah 43:2" When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty you will not drown! When you walk through the fi re of oppression, you will not be burned up .... "

Phase 4: Apply God’s Word

2 Timothy 3:16 (LB)"The whole Bible . . . is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. "

James 1:22 "Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Phase 5: Anticipate God's Help

Psalm 37:5 (LB)"Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it. and he will. "

Phase 6: Adhere To God’s Plan

Galatians 6:9 (LB)"Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don 't get discouraged and give up. "

Philippians 1:6 "Be confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. "