February 5 2017 Getting A Grip On Peace Of Mind

GETTING A GRIP ON PEACE OF MIND

Four principles to develop peace of mind.

I. You need to settle the identity problem.

Verse 24 – By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

Joshua 24:15 – Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.

II. You must accept personal responsibility.

Verse 25 – He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.

Principle: You can always replace a negative with a positive.

Verse 24 – When he had grown up.

No one can ruin your life but you.

Romans 8:31-39 – If God is for us, who can be against us, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Trouble or hardship or persecution…..NO!

III. You must accept the issue of priorities.

Verse 25 – He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.

Verse 26 – He regarded this sacrifice for the sake of Christ as of greater value that the treasures of Egypt.

Luke 12:15 - A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses.

IV. You must have endurance.

Verse 27 – For he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

The fact of life: No gain without pain.

John 1:12 – All who received Him, He gave the right to become children of God.

January 29 2017 Getting A Grip On Prayer

GETTING A GRIP ON PRAYER

Luke 11 and John 15

Luke 11:1 – And they said, Lord, teach us to pray.

Misconceptions About Prayer:

• Magic wand.
• Make God into a genie.
• First aid kit.
• Tug of war.
• Religious duty.

Four Purposes Of Prayer:

1. It’s an act of dedication.

John 15:5 – I am the Vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, but apart from Me, you can do nothing.

John 15:5 – If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned.

John 15:7 – But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

2. Prayer is an act of communication.

John 15:15 – I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.

John 15:16 – You did not choose me, but I chose you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My Name.

3. Prayer is an act of supplication.

Phil. 4:6 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer present your request to God.

Phil. 4:7 – And the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

John 16:23 – I tell you the truth, My Father will give you whatever you ask in My Name.

John 16:24 – Until now you have not asked for anything in My Name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete.

James says – You have not because you ask not.

Psalm 145:16 – You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

Psalm 37:4 – Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desire of your heart.

Psalm 84:11 – No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

4. Prayer is an act of cooperation.

John 14:12 – I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things, because I am going to My Father.

John 14:13 – And I will do whatever you ask Me, for anything you ask in My Name, I will do it.

January 15 2017 Getting A Grip On Hope

GETTING A GRIP ON HOPE

Romans 15:13 - May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in Him. Then you’ll overflow with hope.

Psalm 52:9 - In Your name I will hope, for Your name is good.

Jehovah Shammah=God is always there!

Three anchors of the soul

1. His presence is watching over me.

Isaiah 41:10 - Don’t worry, because I am with you. Don’t be afraid, because I am your God. I will make you strong and will help you. I will support you.

Psalm 32:8 - I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.

Lamentations 3:21-23 - I have hope when I think of this: The Lord’s love never ends; His mercies never stop. They are new every morning.

2. His purpose is working in me.

Romans 8:28 - We know that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11 - (God) I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.

Philippians 1:6 - God began doing a good work in you and I am sure He will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again

3. His place is waiting for me.

John 14:1-2 - Don’t be troubled. You trust God, now trust in Me, I am going to prepare a place for you.

Revelations 21:4 - He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All of that has gone forever.

Isaiah 46:3-5 - Listen! I have upheld you since you were conceived and I have taken care of you from your birth. Even when you are old, I will be the same. Even when your hair has turned gray, I will take care of you. I made you and will take care of you. I will carry you and save you. Can you compare Me to anyone? No one is equal to Me or like Me!

1 Peter 1:3 - In God’s great mercy He has caused us to be born again into a living hope, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

Isaiah 40:31 - 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.

January 8 2017 Getting A Grip On Faith

GETTING A GRIP ON FAITH

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

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

Luke 17:5 – The apostles said, Lord, increase our faith.

I. How does God strengthen my faith? By testing it.

James 1:3 – The testing of your faith develops perseverance so that you may be mature and complete.

Job 7:17-18 – What is man that you make so much of him, and that you give him so much attention that you examine him every morning and test him every moment.

II. How does God test our faith?

1. God tests our faith through difficulties.

1 Peter 1:6-7 – For a little while you have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Isaiah 48:10 – I have refined you, though not as silver, I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

James 1:2-3 – Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

LESSON: To live by faith, I learn to: To live by faith.

2. God tests our faith through demands.

Exodus 16:4 – The people are to go out each day and gather enough manna for that day. In that way I will test them and see whether they will follow instructions.

Hebrews 11:8 – By faith Abraham obeyed and went.

Hebrews 11:7 – By faith Noah built an ark.

LESSON: To live by faith I must learn to: Obey God quickly.

3. God tests our faith through delays.

Deuteronomy 8:2 – God led you all the way in the desert these 40 years to test you in order to know what was in your heart.

Isaiah 64:4 – God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.

LESSON: To live by faith, I must learn to: Wait patiently.

December 18 2016 Benefits From The Christmas Savior

BENEFITS FROM THE CHRISTMAS SAVIOR

Matthew 1:21 – She will give birth to a Son and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.

1. You lose your loneliness.

Hebrews 13:5 – Jesus said, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.”

Isaiah 41:10 - Don’t worry, because I am with you. Don’t be afraid, because I am your God. I will make you strong and will help you; I will support you.”

Psalm 4:8 – “I will lie down in peace and sleep, for though I am alone, O Lord, You will keep me safe.”

Psalm 16:11 – “Your presence fills me with joy.”

2. You get another chance.

I Corinthians 1:30 – Right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start, all come from God by way of Jesus Christ.

II Corinthians 5:17 – Anyone who belongs to Christ becomes a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything becomes new.

Colossians 2:13-14 – God makes you alive with Christ when He forgives all your failures and sins. He did this by erasing the charges that were brought against us by the laws God established. He took those charges away by nailing them to the cross.

3. You find your reason for living.

Ephesians 1:11 – It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ He had His eye on us, and designed us for glorious living.

Proverbs 16:4a – The Lord has made everything for His own purposes.

Colossians 3:11 – In this new life one’s nationality or race or education or social position is unimportant; such things mean nothing. Whether a person has Christ is what matters, and He is equally available to all.

I Peter 1:3-4 – Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven and the future starts now!

Romans 6:13 – Give yourselves completely to God, every part of you to be used for His good purposes.

4. You get His power to go on.

II Timothy 2:1 – Find your source of strength in the Grace of Christ Jesus. 

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 fire of oppression, you will not be burned up.