November 27 2011 A Wonderful Counselor For Life's Decisions

A Wonderful Counselor For Life's Decisions

Isa 9:6 - A child shall be born and His name shall be called wonderful Counselor.

Why we need guidance:

° We have a selfish nature.
Jeremiah 10:23 – O Lord I know that the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?

° Our minds are limited.
Isa. 55:8 – For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
Rom. 12:2 – But be ye transformed by the renewing or your mind.

° The Pressures surround us in our world.
Psalm 1:1 - Blesses is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.
Rom. 12:2 – Be not conformed to this world.
James 1:5 – If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask God, that giveth to all men liberally.

I. He is a wonderful Counselor because of His perception.
John 1:1 – The Word was God. 
Gen. 1:27 – So God created man in His Own image.
Gen 3:15 – He (Christ) will crush your (satan) head.
Rev. 13:8 – The Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world.
Hebrews 4:16 – Let us then approach the Throne of Grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

II. He is a wonderful Counselor because of His personal attachment.
John 15:13 – Greater love has no man that this, that a man lay down his life for another.

III. He is a wonderful Counselor because of His power.
Matt. 28:16 – All power in heaven and earth has been given to Me.
I Cor. 2:4 – My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power.

IV. He is a wonderful Counselor for He waits for permission.
Gal. 2:20 – Christ lives in me.
Isa. 9:6 – For unto us a Child is born and He will be called wonderful, Counselor.

August 15 2010 Managing Tough Times Under Pressure

Managing Tough Times Under Pressure

(1 Peter 1:10 - 12 - Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.)

There are tough times today
*Disbelief
*Disinterested
*Disdain
*Life Storms

(1 Timothy 1:18-19 - Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.)
(Proverbs 10:25 - When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.)

1. We must have a sacrificing spirit
(verse 11 - trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.)
(Revelation 13:8 - All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.)
(John 10:18 - "No one takes it from me, but I lay it d own of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.")
(2 Peter 1:4 - Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.)

2. Be willing to accept some denials in life
(Matthew 6:33 - But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.)
*Elijah
*3 Hebrew Children
*Noah
(Isaiah 40:31 - but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.)

3. We must maintain a willingness to serve
(verse 12 - It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.)
(Mark 9:35 - Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.")

4. We must open our lives to the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ
(Verse 10 - Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care)
(Romans 3:24 - and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.)
(Acts 15:8 - God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.)
(2 Timothy 2:1 - You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.)
(Hebrews 4:16 - Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.)