September 20 2015 Getting Connected

GETTING CONNECTED

Matthew 6:8 – For your Father knows the things you have need of.

Romans 12:5 – Even though we are many individuals, Christ makes us one body and individuals who are connected to each other.

FOUR CONNECTION POINTS

I. Connection one: God made you to know Him.
   
A) 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 GET CONNECTED

1. God reached out to us.

a) 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.

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

II. Connection two:  God wants you to be like Him.

A) 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 12:24 – I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single see, but if it dies, it produces seeds.

2. Allow circumstances to mold you.

Romans 8:28 – We know that all that happens to us is working for our good.

III. Connection three:  God made us to serve Him.

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

HOW DO I SERVE?

1. It’s a choice.

a) Romans 12:1-2 – Off 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 are at.

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

IV. Connection four:  We will live with Him.

A) 2 Corinthians 5:1 & 5: - For we know that when the tent we live in on earth is folded up, there is a home built by God for us, an everlasting home in heaven.  This is the purpose for which God made us.

HOW TO PREPARE

1. Make the Lord King.

John 6:40 – Everyone who believes in the Son will have everlasting life.

2. Begin to serve Him.

Matthew 6:33 – Be concerned above everything else with God’s Kingdom and with what He requires and He will provide you with all these other things.

November 4 2012 The Choice Of Purity

THE CHOICE OF PURITY

Matthew 5:8 - Happy are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Pure in Heart:

Matthew 6:1 - Be careful not to parade your good deeds before others to attract their notice, or you will lose all reward for your Father in heaven.

How to Develop a Pure Heart (Matthew 6)

1. Remember God sees everything.
Vs. 4, 6, 18 - Your Father sees what is done in secret.

Hebrews 4:13 - Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

2. Review my motives.
Proverbs 24:21 - God knows and judges your motives. He keeps watch over you. He knows, and He will reward you according to what you do!

• Giving (vs. 2-4)
• Praying (vs. 5-15)
• Fasting (vs. 16-18)

1 Thessalonians 2:4 - We do not aim to please others, but to please God who knows us through and through.

3. Realign your priorities.
Exodus 20:3 - You shall have no other gods before Me.

Three Tests

• Look at my activities.
Matthew 6:19 - Don’t pile up treasures on earth, but keep your treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, your heart will be also.

• Look at my anxieties.
Matthew 6:25 - Therefore, I tell you, don’t worry about your life.

• Look at my ambitions.
Matthew 6:31-33 - Don’t worry about (these things), this is what pagans are always looking for, your heavenly Father knows you need them. Instead, set your heart first on His Kingdom, and His goodness and all those things will come to you as a matter of course.

Psalm 51:10 - Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires.