February 12 2017 Getting A Grip On Respect

GETTING A GRIP ON RESPECT

RESPECT WHO?

Parents (Ex. 20:8-9)

Spouses (Eph. 5:22, I Peter 3:1, 7)

Church Leaders (Heb.13:17)

Anyone in Authority (Rom. 13:1-7)

1 Peter 2:17 – Show proper respect to everyone.

I. WHY TREAT EVERYONE WITH RESPECT?

1. BECAUSE God made everyone.

Ps. 8:5 – You (God) made man inferior only to yourself; you crowned him with glory and honor.

2. BECAUSE Jesus died on the cross for everyone.

1 Pet. 1:18-19 – God paid a ransom to save you. He paid for you with the precious life-blood of Christ.

3. BECAUSE it shows I personally know God.

1 John 4:8 – If a person isn’t loving and kind, it shows that he doesn’t know God, for God is love.

4. BECAUSE I’ll get back what I give out.

Gal. 6:7 – A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows.

II. HOW TO SHOW RESPECT TO OTHERS.

1. Accept others unconditionally.

Romans 15:7 – Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

Romans 12:18 – If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

2. Commit yourself personally.

Romans 12:10 – Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.

Romans 12:5 – In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

3. Encourage others continually.

1 Thess. 5:11 – Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Cor. 13:7 – If you love someone you always believe in him and always expect the best of him.

4. Serve people cheerfully.

1 Peter 4:10 – Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

Romans 12:13 – Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

5. Forgive others freely.

Col. 3:13 – Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

6. Demonstrate God’s love.

John 13:35 – By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love for one another.

2 Cor. 5:14 – For Christ’s love compels us.

CONCLUSION:

Eph. 3:17 -18 – I pray that Christ will be more at home in your heart, living within you as you trust Him. May your roots go deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love, and may you be able to feel and understand how long, wide, deep and high His love really is, and experience this love for yourselves.

September 11 2016 Prospering With Integrity

Prospering With Integrity

Memory Verse: Exodus 20: 15 "You shall not steal."

I. HOW DO WE STEAL?

1 By deceiving customers

Amos 6:5 (GN) "(They) overcharge, use false measures, and fix the scales to cheat the customers."

2. By defrauding employers

Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord."

3. By delaying payments

Leviticus 19:13 (GN) "Don't take advantage of anyone... Don't hold back the wages of someone you've hired, not even for one night."

4. By defrauding on loans

Psalm 37:21 (GN) "The wicked man borrows and never pays back..."

5. By deceiving the government

Romans 13:6-7 (GN) "...the authorities are working for God ... Pay what you owe them; pay your personal and property taxes..."

6. By defrauding the Lord

Malachi 3:8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! but you ask, `How do we rob You, God? By withholding tithes and offerings!"

II. WHY BE HONEST?

1. I am being watched by God

Job 34:21-22 (LB) "God careful watches the goings on of all mankind; he sees them all. No darkness is thick enough to hide evil men from his eyes."

Proverbs 20:7 (LB) "It is a wonderful heritage to have an honest father."

2. I will reap whatever I sow

Galatians 6:7 (LB) "Don't be misled, remember a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows!"

Proverbs 15:27 (GN) "Try to make a profit dishonestly and you'll get your family in trouble."

Proverbs 21:6 (LB) "Dishonest gain will never last, so why take the risk?"

3. Dishonesty damages my character

Proverbs 10:2 (GN) "Wealth you get by dishonesty will do you no good, but honesty can save your life."

Proverbs 19:1 (GN) "It is better to be poor but honest, than to be a lying fool!"

4. God will reward my honesty.

Proverbs 28:20 (GN) "Honest people will lead a full, happy life but if you are in a hurry to get rich you are going to be punished."

Matthew 25:21 (JN) "Well done...you've shown you can be faithful in small things. I will trust you with greater ones; come and join in your Master's happiness!"

III. FIRST STEPS TO INTEGRITY

1. Make restitution when possible.

Luke 19:8 (GN) (Zacchaeus) "If I have cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much."

2. Give God my full tithe

Malachi 3:8,9-10 "Is it right for a person to cheat God? Of course not...Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple ... and I will pour out on you in abundance..."

3. Make a living honestly

Ephesians 4:28 (Ph) "The man who used to be a thief must give up stealing, and do an honest day's work with his own hands..."

February 7 2016 Daring To Plant In Faith

DARING TO PLANT IN FAITH

Daring Faith: The Key To Miracles – Part 5

Genesis 8:22 (NIV) God: “As long as the earth endures, there will be seedtime and harvest. . .”

Galatians 6:7a (Mes)“Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. Whatever a person plants, he WILL harvest."

GOD’S LAWS OF PLANTING AND HARVESTING

1. EVERYTHING STARTS WITH A SEED

Genesis 1:11God said, “Let the land have seed-bearing plants and trees that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their varieties.”

A “SEED” IS ANYTHING VALUABLE that I give away

2. NOTHING HAPPENS UNTIL UNTIL THE SEED IS PLANTED

John 12:24 Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, it cannot reproduce. But if it dies, it will produce much fruit.”

Mark 4:26-27 (NCV) Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who plants seed in the ground. Night and day, whether the person is asleep or awake, the seed still grows, but the person does not know how it grows.”

3. WHEN I HAVE A NEED I SHOULD PLANT A SEED

Ecclesiastes 11:6 (TEV) “Do your planting in the morning and in the evening, too! You never know whether it will all grow well or whether one planting will do better than the other.” 

4. WHATEVER I PLANT IS WHAT I WILL REAP.

Galatians 6:7b (TEV) “You will reap exactly what you plant.”

Galatians 6:7b-8 (Mes)“The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others, and ignoring God, harvests a crop of weeds. That’s all he’ll have to show for his life! BUT the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life!”

5. I’M NOT THE ONLY SOWER.

John 4:38 “I sent you to reap where you didn’t plant; others had already done work before you, and you will gather the harvest.” 

6. I ALWAYS REAP IN A DIFFERENT SEASON THAN I SOW.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-5 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. . . A time to plant and a time to harvest. . . a time to scatter and a time to gather. . .” 

7. I MUST BE PATIENT AND NOT GIVE UP

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.” 

8. I ALWAYS REAP MORE THAN I SOW.

Mark 4:8 Some seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, MULTIPLYING thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times.” 

9. I INCREASE MY HARVEST PLANTING MORE SEED.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap generously. Each one should give what he’s decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Proverb 11:24 (Mes) “The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.” 

10. I PLANT BY FAITH, NOT FEELINGS

Psalm 126:5-6 (NLT) “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, BUT they sing as they return with the harvest.” 

11. THE BEST TIME TO PLANT IS NOW

Ecclesiastes 11:4“Those who wait for perfect weather will never plant seeds; and those who look at every cloud will never reap a harvest.”

January 25, 2015 Becoming A Stronger Person

BECOMING A STRONGER PERSON

Hebrews 11:32

Judges 13:24 – The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.  He grew and the Lord blessed him.

Three Things That Will Weaken Your Life

1. Self Indulgence.

Judges 14:1 – Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman.

Verse 2 – When he returned, he said to his father and mother, I have seen a Philistine woman, not get her for me as my wife.

Verse 3 – His father and mother replied, isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among your own people?

Galatians 6:7-8 – Don’t be misled, remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it, a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows!  If he sows to please his own wrong desires, he will be planting seeds of evil and he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death.

Lesson One: Strong people discipline their desires.

1 Corinthians 6:12 – I will not be mastered by anything.

Proverbs 25:28 – Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self control.

2. Bitterness.

Judges 14:18 – He was burning with anger.

Judges 15:3 – This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines.

Judges 15:7 – Since you acted like this, I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.

Judges 15:11 – I merely did to them, what they did to me.

Judges 15:3-5 – I will really harm them.  He went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs.  He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines.  He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vine yards and olive groves.

Judges 15:15 – Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.

Lesson Two: Strong people restrain their reactions.

Proverbs 29:22 – An angry man stirs up dissension and a hot tempered one commits many sins.

Proverbs 11:32 – Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.

3. Carelessness.

Judges 13:4-5 – See to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, no razor shall be used on his head.

Judges 16:7   Verse 11   Verses 13-14

Verse 17 – He told her everything.

Verse 19 – Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and his strength left him.

Verse 20 – He did not know that the Lord had left him.

Lesson Three: No one ever plans to be a failure.

Verse 21 – Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza, binding him with bronze shackles.  They set him to grinding in the prison.

Verse 22 – But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

October 26 2014 Showing Honor

Showing Honor 

HONOR WHO?

• Parents (Ex. 20:8-9)
• Spouses (Eph. 5:22, 1 Peter 3:1, 7)
• Church Leaders (Heb. 13:17)
• Anyone In Authority (rom. 13:1-7)

I Peter 2:17 – Show proper respect to everyone.

I. Why Treat Everyone With Honor?

1. Because God made them.

Psalm 8:5 – You (God) made man inferior only to yourself; You crowned him with glory and honor.

2. Because Jesus died for them.

1 Peter 1:18-19 – God paid a ransom to save you.  He paid for you with the precious life blood of Christ.

3. Because I personally know God.

1 John 4:8 – If a person isn’t loving and kind, it shows that he doesn’t know God, for God is love.

4. Because I’ll get back what I give.

Galatians 6:7 – A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows.

II. How To Show Honor To Others.

1. Accept others unconditionally.

Romans 15:7 – Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

Romans 12:18 – If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

2. Commit yourself personally.

Romans 12:10 – Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.

Romans 12:5 – In Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

3. Encourage others continually.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 – Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up just as in fact, you are doing.

1 Corinthians 13:7 – If you love someone you always believe in him and always expect the best of him.

4. Serve people cheerfully.

1 Peter 4:10 – Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

Romans 12:13 – Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.

5. Forgive others freely.

Colossians 3:13 – Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

6. Share Christ verbally.

1 Peter 3:15-16 – Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But, do this with gentleness and respect.

2 Corinthians 5:14 – For Christ’s love compels us.

Conclusion:  Ephesians 3:17-18 – I pray that Christ will be more at home in your heart, living within you as you trust Him. May your roots go deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love, and may you be able to feel and understand how long, wide, deep and high His love really is, and experience this love for yourselves.