June 7 2015 Freedom Through Forgiveness

Freedom Through Forgiveness

Proverbs 10:12 – Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.

Proverbs 19:11 – When someone wrongs you, it is a great virtue to ignore it.

I. First establish the forgiving motive.

Jeremiah 13:23 – Can the leopard change his spots?  Then may you also do good that are accustomed to doing evil?

HOW TO ESTABLISH NEW MOTIVES

1. Move Christ into the center of your life.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.  Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.

2. Live your life focused on Christ.

John 15:4 – Remain in Me and I will remain in you.

II. Secondly, we need to understand why we forgive.

1. First because God forgives us.

Colossians 3:13 – Be ready to forgive, never hold grudges.  Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

2. We need to forgive because resentment doesn’t work.

Job 5:2 – To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do.

Job 18:4 – You are only hurting yourself with your anger.

3. You need to forgive because you need forgiveness in the future.

Mark 11:25 – When you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins too.

III. We deal with our hurt by learning the steps out of our hurt.

1. Never retaliate.

Proverbs 20:22 – Don’t take it on yourself to repay a wrong.  Trust the Lord and He will make it right.

2. Deal with your hurt immediately.

Ephesians 4:26 – Don’t sin by nursing your grudge.  Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry, get over it quickly.

3. Forgive them whether they ask or not.

Ephesians 4:32 – Forgive each other as readily as God forgave you in Christ.

4. Do good to them.

Luke 6:27-28, 35 – Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you.

Job 11:13-16 – Put your heart right, reach out to God, then face the world again, firm and courageous.  Then all troubles will fade from your memory, like floods that are past and remembered no more.

December 28 2014 Building Confidence In Prayer

Building Confidence in Prayer

Luke 5:16 – But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Seven Principles Towards Confidence In Prayer:

1. Make sure all known sin is confessed.

Psalm 68:18 – If I regard sin in my heart the Lord will not hear me.

Isaiah 59:1-2 – Your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.

Principle to live by: Before I pray for change in my circumstances, I should pray for a change in character.

James 5:16 – The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

2. Keep a forgiving spirit towards others.

Principle: A forgiving spirit is not an act, it’s an attitude.

Matthew 5:23-24 – First go and be reconciled to your brother.

3. Keep a surrendered will at all times.

James 4:3 – You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly.

Principle to live by: If God lays a burden on our heart, He also purposes to grant it.

Psalm 33:13 – From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind.

Principle: When God sees me He also sees the crowd and does what’s best for the whole group.

4. Understand God’s Sovereignty.

Principle to live by: I must accept the Sovereignty of God in my life of prayer.

5. I must have faith.

James 1:5 – But let him ask in faith, with no doubting for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

Matthew 9:29 – According to your faith it will be done unto you.

Matthew 17:20 – If your faith is as small as a mustard seed you can say to this mountain move from here to there and it will.

Principle: To make prayer a force, I must look for question marks in my life.

6. I must have persistence.

Jacob
Ask, Seek, Knock

Principle: Persistence in prayer does not change God, it changes me.

7. Put action with your prayers.

James 2:14 – Faith without action is dead.

Principle: My great need is not faith and works, but faith that works.

June 2 2013 Five Conditions For Answered Prayer

FIVE CONDITIONS FOR ANSWERED PRAYER

If you meet these conditions you have every right to expect that what you ask for will be answered in prayer.

1. You must  Have an Honest Relationship with God

John 15:7 "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you can ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you." 

Three questions on how to evaluate if you  have an honest relationship to God. 

* Do I or have I refused to admit things that I have done wrong in the past?  

1 John 1 /  Psalm 66:18 / Isaiah 59:2

Proverbs 28:13 "He who tries to conceal his sins cannot prosper but he who admits them, confesses them, forsakes them will have mercy."  

1 John 1:8 "If we claim to be without sin, we're just deceiving ourselves.  The truth is not in us.  However, if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 

* Am I currently in the present ignoring any of God's principles? 

1 John 3:21-22 "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us we have confidence before God and we receive from Him anything we ask [That's the promise] because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him.  This is His command: To believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and to love one another as He has commanded us."  

*  Do I really want God's will for my life?  

1 John 5:14 "This is the assurance we have in approaching God that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us and if we know that He hears us then whatever we ask we know that we have what we've asked of Him." 

2. You must HAVE A FORGIVING ATTITUDE     TOWARD OTHER PEOPLE. 

Mark 11:24-25  "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you've received it and it will be yours. Condition:  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins."  

Hebrews 12:15 (LB) "Watch out that no bitterness take root among you for as it springs up among you it causes deep trouble, hurting many in their spiritual lives." 

1 Peter 3:7 "Husbands, in the same way [just like he's talked to the wives in the previous verses] be considerate as you live with your wives and treat them with respect.... so that nothing will hinder your prayers." 
 
3. You must WILLING TO SHARE THE RESULTS
 
Proverbs 21:13 "If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered."        

1 John 3:22.   "We receive from Him anything we ask because we obey His commands."   "His commands are believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ ... love one another as He has commanded us."  

1 John 3:17 "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"            

James 4:1 "What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?  You want something but you don't get it.  You kill and you covet but you can't have what you want.  You quarrel and you fight.  But you have not because you don't ask God...

James 4:3  When you ask you don't receive because you ask with the wrong motive that you  may spend what you get on your own pleasures."         

4. You must______________________________

James 1:5-7 "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord.  He's a double-minded man unstable in all he does."  

Mark 9:29 "According to your faith, it will be done unto you."              

Hebrews 11:6 "Without faith it is impossible to please God."

5.  You must_____________________________

Memory Verse: John 14:13 "And I will do whatever you ask in My name so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.  You may ask Me for anything in My name and I will do it."

John 16:24  "You've not asked anything in My name.  Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete."

August 26 2012 How To Live A Life That Counts

HOW TO LIVE A LIFE THAT COUNTS
James 4:1-10
Vs. 6 & 10 - He gives us more Grace, and He will lift us up.

Step 1. Remember the loving desire of God.
Vs. 5 - The Holy Spirit whom God has placed within us with tender jealousy.

Step 2. Remove the obstacles to real life.
Vs. 6 - He gives us more grace.
Vs. 10 - He will lift us up.

Step 3. Rely on Christ’s support.
Jude 1:24 - To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy.

Step 4. Respond to Christ’s security.
2 Timothy 1:23 - I know whom I have believed and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him.

Williams Translation: I am absolutely sure that God is able to guard what I have given to Him.

Step 5. Reverse the flow.
Vs. 10 - Humble yourself before the Lord.

4 Steps

• Give in to God.
Vs. 7 - Submit yourself then to God.
Colossians 3:15 - Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart.

• Get wise to satan.
Vs. 7 - Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
2 Corinthians 2:11 - In order that Satan might not outwit us, we are not unaware of his schemes.

• Grow closer to God.
Vs. 8 - Come near to God and He will come near to you.
Isaiah 26:3 - He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in Him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord.

• More Grace than forgiving Grace.
Vs. 8 & 9 - Wash your hands, purify your hearts.

February 20 2011 Five Conditions Of Answered Prayer

Five Conditions of Answered Prayer

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

Five Conditions

I. Have an honest relationship with God

(John 15-7 - If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.)

Three Evaluation Questions

1. Have I refused to admit anything, that's wrong in my life, to God?

(Psalm 66:18 - If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened)

(Isaiah 59:2 - But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.)

(Proverbs 28:13 - He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.)

(1 John 1:8-9 - If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.)

2. Am I ignoring any of God's principles in my life?

(1 John 3:21-23 - Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.)

3. Do I want God's will for my life?

(1 John 5:14-15 - This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.)

II. Have a forgiving attitude towards other people.

(Mark 11:24-25 - "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.")

(Hebrews 12:15 - See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.)

(1 Peter 3:7 - Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.)

III. Be willing to share the results

(Proverbs 21:13 - If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.)

(1 John 3:17 - If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?)

(James 4:3 - When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.)

IV. You must believe that God will answer

(James 5:5-8 - You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you. Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.)

(Mark 9:29 - He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer.")

V. Pray in Jesus' name

(John 14:13-14 - And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.)