- Ultimately
it doesn’t matter that we say we know Him, but that He says He knows us!
a.
“Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you
evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:23)
b.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John
10:27)
c.
“But now that you know God—or rather are known by God” (Galatians 4:9)
d.
“‘The
Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the
Lord must turn away from wickedness.’” (2 Timothy 2:19)
- Not all who
call themselves “Christian” truly are—Christians have the Holy Spirit in
their hearts
a.
“And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.”
(Romans 8:9)
b.
“Do you not know that your bodies are
temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in
you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own” (1 Corinthians
6:19)
c.
“Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our
hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’” (Galatians 4:6)
d.
“Those
who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires.” (Galatians 5:24)
e.
“Guard the good deposit that was
entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the
Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (2 Timothy 1:14)
- God gives
us supernatural strength that we can’t just “work up” or produce on our
own
a.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and
help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
b.
“They will say of me, ‘In the LORD alone are deliverance and
strength.’” (Isaiah 45:24)
c.
“I pray that out of his glorious riches
he may strengthen you with power through
his Spirit in your inner being” (Ephesians 3:16)
d.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” (Ephesians 6:10)
e.
“Being
strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may
have great endurance and patience” (Colossians 1:11)
- I heard
Bill Kennedy say many times, “It’s not just hard to live the Christian
life—it’s impossible!”
a.
In our own human strength and ability,
it’s impossible to live the way Christ commanded
b.
God gives us the strength by the Holy
Spirit in our hearts to be able to live pleasing to Him
c.
God never commands us to do anything
that we’re unable to do because He will give us the strength, ability,
resources, and means to be able to do it
i.
For example: since He commands us to
honor our father and mother, though we might have to make major sacrifices to
fulfill this, God will provide and make the way
ii.
Since He enables us to do what He
commands, we have no excuses for disobedience
- The Holy
Spirit enables us to do what the rest of the world can’t do—sincerely love
our enemies
a.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you,
so you must love one another.” (John 13:34)
i.
Christ’s example is that He loved all
12 disciples including His enemy Judas Iscariot
ii.
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray
for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44)
iii.
“Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)
iv.
It’s not natural or humanly possible to
have consistent and sincere love for our enemies
v.
Genuine love for our enemies is strong
assurance that we truly are one of God’s children
b.
“Love your neighbor as yourself ... So
I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will
not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:14, 16)
i.
The solution for the lusts of the flesh
is not willpower, it’s walking by the Spirit
ii.
The lusts of the flesh subside when we strive
to obey Christ’s commandment of love
iii.
I’ve learned that the more I focus on
loving others, the less problems I have with my flesh
- “Therefore,
in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to
torment me.” (2 Corinthians 12:7)
a.
This “thorn” in Paul’s flesh was likely
a person, a false teacher undermining his work
i.
“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you
allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where
you will live.” (Numbers 33:55)
ii.
In Scripture, thorns in the flesh were
ungodly people causing trouble for God’s people
b.
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to
take it away from me.” (2Co 12:8)
i.
Even the apostle Paul didn’t always get
his prayers answered or know what to pray for
ii.
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our
weaknesses. For we do not know what we
should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for
us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26)
c.
“My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2Co 12:9)
i.
Grace means favor—God was favoring
Paul, He was on Paul’s side and that’s all he needed
ii.
“If God is for us, who can be against
us?” (Romans 8:31)
iii.
“No temptation has overtaken you except
what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when
you are tempted, he will also provide a
way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
iv.
The solution isn’t always for the
problems to go away but for us to trust God through them
d.
“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in
hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Co 12:10)
i.
“Blessed are you when people insult
you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great
is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:11-12)
ii.
“Consider
it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many
kinds” (James 1:2)
iii.
“In
all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have
had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” (1 Peter 1:6)
- The Holy
Spirit gives us the desire and will to obey—it’s actually a joy to serve
and obey Him
a.
Christians have a hunger to do His will
similar to a hunger for food
i.
“I have not departed from the commands
of his lips; I have treasured the words
of his mouth more than my daily bread.” (Job 23:12)
ii.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)
iii.
“‘My
food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the
will of him who sent me and to finish his work.’” (John 4:34)
b.
My wife and I both experienced changed
hearts toward our dads after becoming Christians
- The Holy
Spirit confirms our conscience when we do right and when we repent
a.
“I speak the truth in Christ—I am not
lying, my conscience confirms it through
the Holy Spirit“ (Romans 9:1)
b.
The clear conscience we feel after
repenting is one of the greatest assurances of salvation
- God comforts
our hearts by the Holy Spirit when we’re suffering out of obedience to Him
a.
“And walking in the fear of the Lord
and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit,
they were multiplied.” (Acts 9:31 NKJV)
b.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so
that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
c.
“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you
in every good word and work.” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 NKJV)
- God’s peace
in our hearts comes by prayer and by thinking right about other people
a.
“Do
not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
i.
We’re not to be anxious about anything
but to turn everything over to God in prayer
ii.
It won’t make sense how we can have
such peace in the midst of our problems
b.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever
is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think [logizomai] about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it
into practice. And the God of peace will
be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)
i.
There’s a saying, “Don’t judge a book
by its cover” but we all tend to do this with people—we jump to conclusions
about them and treat them accordingly
ii.
The Greek logizomai means “to reckon” or “to take into account,” we are to
reckon what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and
praiseworthy about other people
iii.
If we don’t know something is true
about someone, we shouldn’t reckon it to be true
iv.
We’re to treat others right, not just
in what we say and do, but every thought about them
v.
“And the God of peace will be with you,”
He is on the side of those striving for peace
vi.
When we’re doing our part to be at
peace with others, God is with us and is on our side
- “I know
what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being
content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,
whether living in plenty or in want. I
can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians
4:12-13)
a.
God knows our hearts therefore He knows
if we’re sincerely content in our situation or not
b.
When He sees we’re striving to be
content, He will give us the strength to truly be content
c.
God can easily change our situation, so
when He doesn’t, we should conclude that it’s His will
d.
When we’re discontent with our
circumstances, we’re not submitting to God
e.
Rather than being content with our
problems, we get sidetracked trying to solve them all
i.
We get too focused on ourselves that we
don’t obey God and sacrifice to serve others
ii.
We say to ourselves, “Once I get these
problems solved then I’ll start serving others”
- When we’re
walking with God, we experience God working in our lives every day
a.
Christianity is not a set of rules,
it’s experiencing and living in a real relationship with God
b.
If you’re not yet a Christian, you
haven’t experienced God showing Himself real in your life
c.
Your first experience will be the
burden of your sins gone by the Holy Spirit in your heart
- If you’re
not yet in a relationship with God then you need to seek Him and find Him
a.
Christ has been away for 2,000 years,
“It is like a man going on a journey” (Mark 13:34 NET)
b.
There’s a saying, “When the cat’s away,
the mice will play!” How do we act while He’s gone?
c.
God can hide so incredibly well that
you’ll be convinced He doesn’t exist
d.
He doesn’t need to be found by anyone, He
doesn’t need anything—we need Him!
e.
“Come near to God and he will come near
to you.” (James 4:8)